Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil
by Superdale33
Summary: Kingdom Hearts x Equestria Girls. A powerful magic had suddenly revealed itself, drawing unwanted attention from the Darkness. Riku was sent in to investigate, but was never heard from. Now, Sora must travel there to find his friend and discover what must be done to protect this magic that everyone shares. And if he has to go through High School to find them, than he will.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**This story takes place after Dream Drop Distance**

**Picture is by Akili-Amethyst on deviantART**

**Edited by NightmareKnight1**

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**Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil**

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

Sora was sitting at the pilot's seat of the Highwing Gummi Ship, with it's orange and yellow color scheme, as he steered the vehicle towards its destination. His hands were gripping the helm tightly, and his face was set with determination and a furrowed brow. His thoughts were a jumbled mess as he tried to keep the pieces in line to think straight. It had happened so fast, and all the new information was still processing in his head.

His determination faltered slightly as he gave a sigh, his face softening to worry. "What happened to you, Riku?" he questioned, not expecting an answer, as he was alone. He allowed his mind to go back to his meeting with Master Yen Sid, still trying to remember everything that had happened.

Sora entered Yen Sid's Study with reckless ambition, the door swinging open easily as he strode inside. Donald and Goofy, who were following behind, entered a bit more gently, with Donald scowling at Sora's brash behavior. Sora's attention was instantly drawn to Yen Sid himself, still wearing his blue robes and pointed hat, who was stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Sora approached Yen Sid's desk much more formally and stood at attention, his features turning serious. As Donald and Good stood a few feet behind him on either side, the three bowed simultaneously. Sora may not have been very polite the first time he came to Yen Sid's tower, but he wasn't about to repeat his mistake.

"You wanted to see me, Master Yen Sid?" Sora asked politely as he rose from his bow with his other two friends.

Yen Sid nodded, "Yes, I had Donald and Goofy bring you here from your home on Destiny Islands to assist in a very grave matter."

Even though Sora knew the situation was important, he couldn't help but break into a grin. "I'll do everything I can to help," he announced without a hint of hesitation, bumping his chest with a fist, "I was bored anyway, what with Riku and Kairi gone."

Yen Sid gave a small smile, "Yes, I understand you have been waiting for your friends to return from what they are doing." His smile dropped as he grew serious yet again, "However, that is the reason I have brought you here."

Sora balked as he took a step back in surprise. "Are they in danger!?" he asked quickly, worry etched into his face, "Do they need my help?!"

"Calm yourself, Sora," Yen Sid requested softly, yet it was enough for Sora to go silent, dipping his head to await Yen Sid's response. "They are not in any immediate danger."

Relaxing his shoulders, Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he faced Yen Sid again. "Kairi is still on a special mission with King Mickey and Lea. As for Riku, that is what I have asked you here for."

Knowing there was no point in rushing Yen Sid, Sora simply nodded, "Alright, tell me what's going on."

Yen Sid shut his eyes in thought for a few moments before reopening them. "A few days ago, I felt the presence of a very powerful magic that reached to all the worlds," he began, "How it suddenly appeared and why I did not sense it sooner, I cannot say. However, this magic is important to every living person, as it makes up the bonds we all share."

"What magic would that be?" Sora asked with a tilt of his head.

Yen Sid smiled, "You of all people should know this, Sora. It is the magic of friendship."

A smile crept onto Sora's face as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms in thought. He had many times said that his friends were his power, and that was no lie. To hear that it was important to everyone wasn't a surprise, but something still puzzled him. He opened his eyes again, a small frown replacing his smile, "What makes this so different?"

"The magic I have sensed is special," he explained patiently, "Because of its power, it allows everyone to share the bonds of friendship that links us together. Every time you make a friend, Sora, a part of that magic forms a bond between yourself and that friend. It's how we are able to remember each other, and enjoy the times we share."

At that moment, it clicked for Sora, his face lighting up, "Oh, I get it. So, this magic is what makes people friends."

"A very crude explanation," Yen Sid agreed, "but effective in that regard."

"Alright, so, what's the problem?" Sora asked, feeling like he already knew the answer.

Yen Sid's face turned grim, "The Darkness has also sensed this magic, and is on the move."

Sora gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists. He knew exactly who was behind the Darkness, and it only took one word to voice his thoughts.

"Xehanort," Sora said. He knew he would have to face him at some point in the future, but to face him under these circumstances was bizarre. Wasn't he going to reappear when the time was right? And didn't he want the χ-blade? He shook his head; it didn't matter what Xehanort was going to do with this special magic, Sora would stop him and put an end to it before it began.

"You are correct, Sora," Yen Sid nodded, "It is no guess that Xehanort is going after this magic. I do not know how he has returned, since he mentioned he would return when the time was right. But that is why I have sent Riku to investigate this phenomenon, and protect the magic from any harm."

Donald and Goofy were acting worried at that moment, idly playing with their hands and facing the floor, knowing what Yen Sid was going to say next. "Unfortunately, we have lost contact with him," He said, causing Sora to gasp sharply, his jaw opening slightly in shock. "I do not know if it is because of the world from which the magic originates from, or because of the encroaching Darkness."

"Riku," Sora muttered to himself, his eyes trained to the floor. Donald and Goofy were able to hear him as they glanced at him sympathetically. Sora hoped that Riku was okay. Though he knew that Riku could take care of himself, the worry still lingered. But Sora couldn't be moping around now. He shook off his sad demeanor as he looked at Yen Sid. "Is that why you summoned me, Master Yen Sid?" he asked with dedication.

"Yes," Yen Sid nodded, "I want you to go to this world and find out what you can. It is top priority that you protect the magic of friendship until Xehanort loses interest, but I would like you to search for Riku as well."

"You got it, Master Yen Sid," Sora exclaimed, pumping a fist with a confident smile. He faced away from Yen Sid, feeling ready for another adventure, but Yen Sid cleared his throat before he could take a single step. Sora looked over his shoulder at him with a questioning glance as Yen Sid closed his eyes again.

"I must warn you, Sora," Yen Sid cautioned with his hand raised for emphasis, "If the magic of friendship is destroyed, all ties with friendship will cease to exist."

Sora jumped back in shock, quickly facing him again, "Huh!? So you mean…?"

"I mean, that no one will be friends with anyone ever again," Yen Sid finished with a nod.

Sora looked to the ground nervously, finally feeling the weight of this mission. If he failed, he wouldn't be the only one to lose. Everyone in all the worlds would no longer have friends, and the worlds would inevitably crumble from disorder. He had to succeed, he just had to.

"Why would Xehanort want to destroy it then?" Sora asked desperately.

"I do not know his motives," Yen Sid admitted with a shake of his head. "But I assume that he hopes to divide us so his goal will be easier to achieve."

Sora groaned to himself. He should have known Xehanort would do something so underhanded. At the very least, though, Sora wouldn't be alone on this venture. He always felt better with friends by his side, even with the odds stacked against him. With that thought, Sora sprung back from his exasperated mood with a firm grin on his face.

"We're on it," Sora said, giving a reassuring smile and turning his head towards Donald and Goofy with a thumbs up. "Me, Donald, and Goofy will make sure that doesn't happen."

Donald and Goofy did not share the same air of enthusiasm as Sora did, looking at him with sorry expressions. This caused Sora to turn to face them fully, slightly uneasy. "You're coming with me, right?"

"Sorry, Sora," Goofy apologized, scratching the back of his head, "Master Yen Sid needs us for somethin'."

Donald nodded in agreement, forcing Sora to look between the two in wonder. He then turned back to Master Yen Sid. "So, I'm doing this alone?" Sora questioned with a bit of doubt.

"I am afraid so, Sora," Yen Sid stated sadly, "They have an errand I need them to complete, and it may take some time. I have the utmost confidence that you will accomplish your mission on your own."

Sora thought about everything that he had learned so far; the special magic, Riku's disappearance, the possible destruction of all of the bonds of friendship. It was a lot to put on his shoulders. Though he had done impossible feats before, it was usually with friends at his side. This time, he would have to be extra careful, or everyone would pay the price. Not only that, but Yen Sid was counting on him, like the whole disaster with him nearly falling to Darkness had never happened. It was like he was giving him a second chance.

Giving off a heavy sigh, Sora nodded, and Yen Sid nodded back. "Donald shall give you the coordinates to the world, and the Gummi Ship is ready whenever you are."

Sora looked at Donald, who gave a smug smile. "I hope you don't crash it, Sora," he joked, crossing his arms with a knowing look.

Sora chuckled, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back with a smile of his own. Though he was heading out on his own, he knew he wouldn't let his friends down. "You can count on me, guys," He said, then he turned back to Yen Sid, standing back to attention with a salute. "So long, Master Yen Sid."

"Good luck, Sora," Yen Sid said with a curt nod, "and remember: stay vigilant."

Sora gave one final nod before bounding for the door, Donald and Goofy right behind him to see him off. Yen Sid stroked his beard as the sounds of their footsteps faded away down the tower.

Despite the enthusiasm he showed at the Mysterious Tower, the true pressure of the mission made him somber. Riku was missing, and he was absolutely sure it wasn't on purpose. Though there was the possibility that the world itself was disrupting communication, Sora had yet to find a world that did that. Not only that, but the thought of no one ever being friends again tore him to shreds. He loved making friends, and the notion that something so catastrophic like that happening was disheartening.

Sora snapped back to reality as a loud beeping noise filled the compartment of the Gummi Ship. It indicated that he was approaching a new world, and with a press of a button, the beeping halted, and Sora got a good look of the new world. It was shrouded in light, which was odd in itself. Was the magic of friendship making it like that? Whatever the reason was, it made it difficult to see what the world looked like. All he was able to discern was a building with some sort of statue in front.

"I guess I'll have to land to see it," he mused to himself, aiming the Gummi Ship for the world. As he approached it, the light grew brighter and brighter, until it was near blinding. Sora did all he could to keep his eyes focused on controlling the vessel, but the sheer amount of light wouldn't even allow him to see through it. Unable to stand it any longer, he tore his gaze away, waiting for the light to diminish.

After a few moments, the light died down, and Sora allowed himself to face forward to continue flying. To his horror, he found himself diving straight towards the grass-covered earth. His heart dropping, Sora quickly tilted the helm back, attempting to steer the Gummi Ship out of harms way. He barely made it as the Gummi Ship skidded on the ground for a brief moment before sailing back into the sky. He veered the vessel to the side as he eased his breathing, glad he had pulled up just in time.

Slowing the Gummi Ship enough to get an easy fly-by, Sora looked out to see the world he had arrived at. From what he could tell, it was a small town with a large, two-story building shaped like a wide 'U' in the direct center of it. A medieval tower on top of a glass dome sat on the roof. The gray statue in the front was big as well, depicting a horse rearing up. At the back of the building, Sora could make out a field, complete with soccer nets and bleachers. The more Sora examined this world, the more it reminded him of something.

"High School?" he pondered aloud, raising a brow. "Well, I can take a better look around when I land."

With that thought, he looked for a place to put the Gummi Ship. There weren't many places to land without being spotted by passersby; he had to maintain the order of the worlds, so it was essential he wasn't seen flying a space-faring vessel. The only area that looked out of sight was the roof of the school, and even that was risky in itself. Nonetheless, there was no other area that was more centralized or well hidden, and with reluctance, he pulled the ship to a slow descent towards the roof of the building.

As he approached, he steadily lowered the Gummi Ship while leveling it at the same time, keeping his aim near the glass dome. With professional skill, he grounded the vessel with a dull thud without a scratch, not counting his close call earlier.

"Donald would be proud," Sora expressed with a chuckle as he unlatched his seatbelt. With a flip of the switch, the lower platform on the Gummi Ship opened up to show an exit into the new world. Jumping out of his seat, he briskly made his way out of the vessel and on to the roof. He ran over to the edge of the slant, which ended at the building's ledge, looking over the new world.

"Riku's out there somewhere," he reminded himself, with a half-smile, "I just gotta find him." He turned towards the roof, looking for a way down. In a stroke of luck, he was able to find the service stairs, and walked over to them. He swung open the door and climbed the set of stairs all the way down to the bottom until he reached another door.

When he entered through it, he found himself in a hallway, with blue tiled floor and walls covered in green lockers with the occasional door. The only thing he didn't see were any students walking around. Sora walked over to a nearby railing to see the main lobby, with banners and display cases with horses on every single one. Wanting to start from the bottom, Sora vaulted the railing and fell to the ground floor, landing expertly. Staying on track, he chose a hallway to walk down and went along, looking for anyone to help him on his way. As he continued, he looked through the windows into the classrooms and noticed that even they were empty.

"Is it the weekend?" he asked himself, rubbing his chin. Then he heard talking, or more accurately, many people talking. With a grin, he followed the muffled noise as it lead him further down the hall. The talking grew louder as he approached a set of double doors, and knew this is where the noise was coming from. Stopping short of entering, he put his hands on his hips and looked over the doors.

"Must be the cafeteria," he concluded, "Or the gym." He knew it was _some _sort of place where students gathered, and the most logical were those two options. With a confident grin, he hit his fist against the palm of his hand in excitement. "Alright, now I'm getting somewhere."

The grin still on his face, Sora stepped forward and pushed the doors open.

The cafeteria was as lively as ever, everyone talking animately with each other as they ate their lunches. Thanks to Twilight Sparkle a few weeks ago, the students weren't as separated as they used to be, and were mingling with each other even though they had different hobbies. It was a normal and fun day for everyone, except for one girl sitting at a table near the back.

Fluttershy, wearing her white tank top shirt and light green skirt, sat alone as she picked at her salad with a fork that she was having for lunch. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry, but it was the fact that she was lonely and kind of sad. Her friends had yet to arrive, and she could really use someone to talk with. She eventually stabbed a leaf of lettuce and stuck it in her mouth, but it did little to quench her longing.

It was at that moment, that Rainbow Dash, sporting a blue short-sleeved jacket with a magenta and white skirt, walked in, swiftly looking over the room. Spotting Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash gave a wave, which she returned, and she made her way over to her. As soon as she was able to, Rainbow fell right into the seat in front of Fluttershy, giving off a content sigh.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy welcomed with a smile, glad to have a friend with her again. "I thought you'd be at practice."

"Decided to take a break for once during lunch," Rainbow explained , returning the smile, as she stretched her arms, "Can't practice all the time."

Rainbow then looked at her with an intent stare, making Fluttershy turn her gaze back to her food. "What about you?" Rainbow questioned, "You okay with detention?"

Not finding the ability to speak, Fluttershy only nodded, playing with her food again to drive back her nervousness. Rainbow still looked at her, "Did you get someone to help you out?"

Swallowing, Fluttershy shook her head, shrinking down in her seat as Rainbow gave a sigh. "Come on, Fluttershy," Rainbow scolded softly, "Not even the others could help you?"

"No," Fluttershy said barely louder than a whisper. "Applejack is working at the farm, Twilight has to head to the library for a project, Pinkie Pie is busy at Sugarcube Corner, and Rarity needs to finish a dress by tomorrow."

Then, she perked up, a small smile emerging on her face as she turned towards Rainbow. "Could you… could you help me?" she asked sweetly, before her eyes widened and she hastily added, "I-If that's alright with you."

A frown and a shake of her head was all the indication Fluttershy needed to slip back into sadness. "Sorry," Rainbow apologized, "You know I have practice after school. Just because I canceled during lunch doesn't mean I'm canceling this afternoon. But can you remind me how you got detention in the first place?"

"Well," Fluttershy started, tapping her chin with a sheepish smile. "I was so busy with my animal friends that I may have sort of... skipped a few classes."

"Lost track of time?" Rainbow deadpanned with a bored look.

"Yes," Fluttershy admitted, her smile disappearing as she bowed her head in shame.

Seeing her distraught mood, Rainbow instantly tried to cheer her up. "Don't worry about it, Fluttershy," she comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's just a few days of cleaning the hallways. It could be worse. Like, a _lot_ worse. Try to find someone to help you, okay? It'll be finished before you know it if you do."

"I know," Fluttershy sighed dejectedly. She _really_ didn't want to ask someone other than her friends for help. It was bad enough trying to speak with anyone in the first place, let alone asking for their help.

It was at that moment that the double doors swung open, and everyone glanced at it, as most people do when any door opens. However, they all had a double take at who entered. It was a boy like any other, with brown spiky hair and blue eyes, but it was what he was wearing that earned him the stares.

His garbs were mostly black, with a short-sleeved hoodie and long shorts. He also had large black and yellow shoes that stuck out like a sore thumb. It seemed like his clothing was made more for adventuring than school. All in all, the students had never seen a person like him before.

As bizarre as he was, many people's gazes did not last for very long, shrugging him off as just another strange person. The boy was unfazed by the way he was looked at, scanning over the room as if searching for someone. When his eyes landed on the lunches being served, he blinked a few times as he put a hand over his stomach.

"Who is he?" Fluttershy asked in wonder, hoping Rainbow could answer so she wouldn't have to introduce herself.

"Who knows," Rainbow replied bluntly, "Probably just a transfer student. Anyway, I'm going to get some food, be back in a flash."

Fluttershy watched Rainbow get up and head over to the serving station for awhile until her attention went back to the strange boy. He was now crossing his arms as he looked deep in thought, contemplating something or other. Fluttershy couldn't help but ponder why a boy like him would be in this school.

As Sora entered the room, the first thing he looked for was Riku, ignoring everyone else for the time being. It was a bit discouraging when he didn't find him, but he hadn't expected to find him right off the bat. Pushing the thought off for the time being, he finally gave a general look of the area. He was definitely in the cafeteria, if the tables and food were any indicator. The people, he also noticed, were each colored differently, from their skin to their hair. At least he wouldn't be short in asking for directions.

When Sora saw the food being served by a green-skinned elderly woman, his stomach involuntarily grumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten for hours. Putting his hand on his stomach, he wondered what delicacies were available to him. He crossed his arms as he went into his thinking pose; he didn't have time to eat. Everything regarding friendship was at stake. On the other hand, he couldn't really get anything done on an empty stomach.

Before coming to a resolution, someone shoved past him without a backwards glance. He gave the girl responsible an annoyed look, but quickly shook it off, going back to his mental debate. He didn't want to start a confrontation on the first day in the new world. Figuring he could get something to eat later, Sora went over to a table to start asking around for assistance on finding his friend. But Sora caught sight of the girl again heading for the line for lunch.

She had light orange skin, with long red and yellow hair. Her attire was a black jacket with an undershirt, along with an orange skirt. He stopped in his tracks to watch her for a few moments, and saw her do something that made Sora look at her in disbelief. The girl had shoved her way past all the other students in line without a care to their own well being.

"Sunset," A girl in the back called out dangerously, "Get to the end of the line. You can't just cut everybody."

Sunset looked behind her with an uncaring glance, and the other students in line cringed in fright, taking off to get as far away from her as possible. The girl that had called her out - with her rainbow-colored hair - stood her ground, glaring at Sunset. Sunset simply gave a smirk, and walked over to the rainbow girl as many of the students watched with wide eyes. Sora wasn't sure what to do, but felt like he should intervene.

When Sunset was a foot away from the girl, she crossed her arms and acted like she was superior. "And what are you going to do about it, huh?" She sneered, making the other girl look uneasy, as if she hadn't thought that far ahead. Sora gripped his hands tightly, still remaining where he stood. Sunset was a bully, no doubt about it, but he hoped the whole thing would blow over.

"I'll… uh, do something!" the rainbow girl said, her tone wavering as she rubbed her elbow in embarrassment. Sunset laughed at her expense, and Sora knew he had to stop her. He began making his way towards her, moving past students and tables gently, but he wouldn't get to her for at least a few precious seconds.

"How about you go cry to your parents," she suggested snidely, "It'd be a nice change of pace for a tomboy like you."

The rainbow girl was at a loss for words, not sure how to respond to an insult like that as she stomped a foot in anger. Sora, however, had reached the end of his rope. He dashed the rest of the way and cut in between the two girls while facing Sunset and threw his arms out in a protective manner. "That's enough!" he declared, making Sunset take a few steps back in surprise. "You have no right to say things like that!"

To say the rest of the cafeteria was surprised was an understatement, but Sora hardly noticed as he kept his eyes focused on Sunset. Even the rainbow girl behind him was speechless. Sunset gave Sora a funny look as if trying to make sense of him before giving an angry glare. "And who are you?" she questioned, "Rainbow Dash's body guard?"

Sora did not move an inch, determined to help the girl behind him in any way he could. "I'm no bodyguard," he admitted, with a shake of his head, "But you shouldn't treat people that way. It hurts their feelings!"

Sunset gave a short laugh, "Feelings? We're not seven-year-olds anymore. Grow up, you baby."

Sora furrowed his brow deeply, not liking Sunset at all. He knew she was trying to get him to lash out, but he wasn't going to take the bait. Instead, he stared at Sunset, who stared right back, and they remained where they stood for a few seconds. Eventually, Sunset glanced over Sora's shoulder, and rolled her eyes and ground her teeth when her eyes saw something. "Don't think this is over," she said, jabbing a finger at Sora's chest as he lowered his arms.

Then, she turned in the opposite direction and strode off. Sora watched her go for a while and then turned to look at the rainbow girl, known as Rainbow Dash, who was just as stunned by Sora's outburst as Sunset was. "You okay?" he asked kindly, giving off a smile.

Rainbow jerked back into reality as she was addressed, and looked away with a angry pout. "Of course I am," she said, looking to the ground. "I could have taken care of it myself."

"Your welcome," Sora said with a slight chuckle, facing her fully.

"The name's Rainbow Dash by the way," Rainbow introduced, still not looking at him completely.

"I'm Sora," Sora replied in turn. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Sunset rounding a corner and out of sight. Turning back to Rainbow, he asked, "What's her problem?"

"Sunset?" Rainbow scoffed, "She's just someone who thinks she owns this school. I can't believe she said she wanted to make friends and then went back on her word."

Sora rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "So, she used to be nice?"

"Not exactly," Rainbow answered, crossing her arms as her eyes looked up to the ceiling. "It's a long story."

Sora nodded in understanding, then he saw someone approach from the corner of his eye, and looked to his left. A tall woman, wearing a golden jacket and purple pants, approached him. Her hair was a mixture of light green, light blue, and pink that flowed past her waist. She halted a few feet away with him, putting her hands on her hips, and Sora felt like he was in trouble.

"Are you new to this school?" she questioned, and Rainbow glanced at him quizzically, curious of the answer as well.

On the spot, Sora faltered slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Um... yes?" he said hesitantly. He wanted to tell the whole truth, but that was probably not the best thing to do.

To his surprise, she gave a warm smile. "I am Principal Celestia," she said, "I've just come to inform you that all transfer students must report to the counselor's office for orientation."

"How come?" Sora inquired innocently.

"Because of…" Celestia paused, searching for the right words to use, "certain past events. The office is to the left, down the hall, second door to your right." She pointed to the cafeteria's entrance, and Sora looked back to Rainbow, who simply shrugged. Seeing no other option, Sora walked towards the doors and opened them, but before he exited the room, he gave one last glance back. Most of the occupants of the cafeteria were watching the scene, and though Sora didn't mind it so much, he did wonder what they thought of him now. He stepped out of the room, and the doors closed behind him.

Crossing his arms, he said, "That… could have gone better." Chuckling, he remarked, "Talk about making an impact."

When Sora left, Celestia soon followed to go back to her own office, leaving Rainbow to watch where Sora had disappeared. She had never seen someone stand up to Sunset before, besides Twilight. And for some reason, she had this strange feeling that she would meet him again. He seemed like the type that was both naive and smart.

"Oh, Rainbow," Fluttershy said, running up to her, her hands held together in worry, "Are you alright? I didn't want to interrupt and-"

"It's okay, Fluttershy," she said, with an idle wave and a proud smile, calming her down. "Principal Celestia just wanted to send the transfer student to the counselor's. I didn't get in trouble."

"Oh, that's good," she said. An awkward silence came down on them, causing Fluttershy to look to the floor as she played with her hands. "So… do you know who he is?"

"Yeah," Rainbow said with a sigh, acting as though it was laborious just to talk about him, "His name is... Sora."

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**For some reason, I find this chapter a bit cheesy, even when I know some good stuff is going to be in the story. Anyway, leave any suggestions for the story; I love reading them for ideas.**


	2. Chapter 2: Fitting In

**Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil**

**Chapter 2: Fitting In**

The hallways of the school were not very confusing for Sora, but since he was completely new, he had a hard time navigating through them. Each hallway branched to more hallways, and everything looked the same no matter where he went. Still, with Principal Celestia's directions, he knew he would find his destination. What kept his mind occupied was the meeting with Rainbow Dash, not two minutes ago. A feeling in his gut told him he should meet her again, and he wasn't sure why.

Perhaps he was simply worried about her, or maybe he just enjoyed her company. Whatever it might be, he hoped he would see her again. Making a friend always made him happy, and in this new world, she could help him find what he was looking for. Smiling to himself, he put his hands behind his head as he made his way to the counselor's office. After he paid his visit, he would get to work on finding that special magic. He still had to protect it, and it would be far easier to defend it if he knew _what_ to defend.

"Second door to my right," Sora muttered to himself as he walked to the door that he was heading to, stopping short of entering. "Here we are."

The door he stood in front of was different from any other door in the building for one simple reason: the window on the door was in the shape of a heart. It didn't bother Sora though, and he rapped his knuckles against the wood of the door three times, waiting to be allowed permission to enter.

"Come in," a feminine voice called out, and Sora did so. As he closed the door behind him, he saw the counselor, who was sitting behind a large wooden desk, and she wasn't too different from everyone else he saw in this world. She had pink skin, and her hair was violet, magenta, and pale gold that looked incredibly soft and gentle. She wore a royal purple jacket similar to Principal Celestia's, and light green pants.

The counselor was mildly surprised to see Sora, shown by her studying him with a tilt of her head. "Are you a transfer student?" she requested nicely.

"Yeah," Sora answered, his smile instantly appearing, "Principal Celestia told me I had to come to you for orientation."

The counselor smiled back, putting any worries Sora had at ease. "Ah, I see," she said, then gestured to the seat in front of her desk. "Please take a seat so we may begin."

Sora nodded and strode over to the indicated seat as the counselor sorted through papers. As Sora plopped into his seat with vigor, the counselor found the sheet she was looking for, grabbed a nearby pen, and faced Sora.

"First off," the counselor started, "I'm counselor Mi Amore Cadenza, or just counselor Cadence for short."

"I'm Sora," he introduced, putting a hand over his chest with a confirming nod. "So, exactly how does orientation work?"

"Well, one part is knowing your name, which you've already given me," Cadance chuckled, writing down on the paper before looking back at him. "But the rest is just getting to know you for the school record."

"Okay, I see," Sora nodded, but then a quizzical look came over him. "Principal Celestia said that new students have to go through orientation after something happened here. Do you know what she meant?"

Cadance rubbed her chin in thought, putting the pen down for the moment. "Not all the details," she admitted, "From what I was told, a student was turned into some sort of monster during the Fall Formal dance."

"Monster!?" Sora blurted, his mind going straight to the one's he had faced before and he leaned forward. "Was it a Heartless, or a Nobody!?"

Cadance raised a brow, bewildered, "Heartless? Nobody?"

Realizing his slip up, Sora relaxed his posture, giving a sheepish chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Never mind," he said, "So, what happened with the monster?"

Sora hoped she would take the subject change, but how he had suddenly shouted strange names was cause enough to question further. Cadance was conflicted on whether she wanted to know what he meant or not, but luckily, she reluctantly answered his question, ignoring the previous outburst for the time being.

"Apparently, a group of friends used some type of magic to take it down," she continued slowly, still curious by the words Sora mentioned. "You would have to ask someone else for the details."

"Gotcha," Sora said, "What else do you need to know?"

Cadance asked question after question while Sora answered as much of the truth as he could. He made sure to keep all information that would paint him as a world-trotting hero secret, but all in all, it was an easy and rather fun process. He told her where he moved from, where he currently resided - which he was able to avoid by saying he hadn't memorized it yet - and what classes he would like to join. Considering that Sora wasn't going to stay for very long in the world, he decided to just go with the regular curriculum. With the short amount of questions, it should have been a quick session, but Sora couldn't help but describe in detail his old home. In the end, Sora gave a yawn from sitting in one place too long, stretching his arms out, which Cadance noticed.

"That should be all, Sora," Cadence concluded, writing down the last bit, "Now, classes have already ended for the day, but you are welcome to explore the school to familiarize yourself with it until it officially closes."

"Thank you very much," Sora said, rolling his arm around in its socket to get the blood moving again. Orientation had taken longer than he had expected, and now he was really hungry. He hoped he could find some left over food back at the cafeteria. Leaping out of his seat, Sora made his way out, giving a wave to Cadence as he left, which she returned.

As Cadence sat there, looking over what she had written during Sora's orientation, she couldn't help but give a wide smile at his optimism. No matter what was thrown at Sora, he always found a way to overcome it, and come out with a smile on his face. It was an attribute that she hadn't seen at all while she was at Canterlot High, and she wished more students shared his enthusiasm. He was definitely an interesting person.

"Well, I'm done for the day," she said aloud, cleaning up the cluster of papers that littered her desk. After all, she had to check in with her sister-in-law to make sure she wasn't overworking herself, again.

As Sora made his way through the hallways of the school, he tried to go the opposite of the way he came. It worked, to an extent, as he found himself in a hallway just off from where he was heading to. With a shrug, he ran the rest of the way, and threw open the doors, entering with his continued running. The room was empty, seeing as there was no point in sticking around school after hours.

Making his way past the tables and chairs to the serving station, Sora was a bit surprised to see the same old woman from before still there, like she hadn't moved at all. He also noticed that all the food that was placed around was now gone, leaving him with nothing to eat, much to his grumbling stomach. Stepping up to the counter, Sora asked, "Do you have any food left? I kind of skipped lunch."

"Sorry, sonny," the old woman apologized, still remaining where she stood. "All out."

"But you didn't even look!" Sora pointed out.

"Don't need to look, I already know!" the old woman shot back with a laugh, causing Sora to sigh in exasperation, slumping his body. A soft giggle was heard by the entrance, causing Sora to perk up from the sound. Turning to the door, he saw a pink-haired girl cover her mouth in embarrassment, lightly blushing, and quickly bolt out the door that she had apparently just entered through.

"Huh," Sora muttered, staring at where the girl had left, "Who was that?"

"Oh, I guess we do have some food left," the old woman restated, looking through a refrigerator a few feet away from the counter. Turning his head to the old woman, Sora could clearly see that there was more than 'some' food left. A lot of apples that he didn't even bother to count, nor would he get the chance as the old woman closed the door of the refrigerator with an apple in hand.

"Here ya are," she said, giving the apple to Sora's eager hand. "Don't eat too fast now, ya hear?"

"Don't worry," Sora said, already taking a bite from the apple, which was absolutely delicious, "I won't."

Then, he quickly made for the door, wanting to meet the girl that he had seen. It looked like she was the only other student in the school at the time, and Sora wanted to see if she could help him out. When he re-entered the hallway, however, he was disappointed to see that she was no where in sight.

"Where did she go?" he asked himself, taking another bite of the apple as he thought of where to look for her. She could have went to any place in the school, and because of its layout, Sora wasn't sure if he could find her again. Sighing in defeat, he simply walked through the hallways, hoping to find his way around by the time school actually started the next day.

Fluttershy put a hand to her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart, resting against the lockers, since she had to run quite awhile until she felt like she was far enough. All she wanted to do was grab an apple for a light snack before she started her detention, but now it seemed she would be unable to. The transfer student was there, so she was about to leave him be so as to avoid meeting him. But Fluttershy overheard the conversation he was having with the lunch lady, and couldn't suppress a giggle at his antics.

She couldn't believe she had done that. She laughed at the transfer student! She knew he wouldn't want to be near her now. This was exactly why she stayed away from the other students - it always ended up with her making a fool of herself. The transfer student wasn't even here a day and she already messed up. Suppressing a sob, Fluttershy pushed off of the lockers and walked towards Vice Principal Luna's office. Maybe she could cheer herself up later by visiting the animal shelter, unless she was bogged down with detention.

"I should have taken Rainbow's advice," Fluttershy said to herself sadly. Even after three more classes, she still couldn't muster the courage to ask someone for help. Who was she supposed to ask besides her friends? Now she could be cleaning the halls for days before she would be finished. Thinking back, Fluttershy had skipped a lot of classes. She was surprised she wasn't punished sooner.

Eventually, she found herself standing before Vice Principal Luna's office, and with a timid fashion she gently gave a single knock on the door. "Enter," Luna said from within, causing Fluttershy to jump slightly from her sudden voice. With a tinge of fear, Fluttershy opened the door, peeking inside to see Luna waiting for her at her desk with a raised brow. Vice Principal Luna had light blue skin, and dark blue and light purple hair. She wore a purple shirt with dark purple pants

"Ah, Fluttershy," Luna noticed, "You have arrived."

Fluttershy entered the room fully, giving a small nod to Luna's statement. "You already know what you must do to make up for your classes," Luna said walking around her desk to the corner of the room, where a mop and bucket sat. "But as a refresher, you must clean all the halls of the school by next week, starting now."

Handing the mop and bucket to Fluttershy in each hand, Luna backed away, looking around with surprise. "Did you bring another student to assist you like I had suggested?"

"No, ma'am," she whispered, feeling guilty. Luna had given her two days to find one other student to help her clean. But her friends had already made plans for the time she would be serving detention, and she would do anything besides ask some random classmate to help.

Giving a disappointed sigh, Luna simply said, "Very well. You may start immediately."

Gently pushing Fluttershy out of her office, Luna closed the door, leaving her to start her detention. Fluttershy looked both ways of the hallway, unsure where to even begin. Deciding to start in the library, and maybe see if Twilight was still there, she began lugging the bucket and mop towards her goal.

As she walked, she came to realize just how much she would have to clean, and it dampened her mood further. It would take a lot longer than she originally thought. As she rounded a corner, her eyes glued to the floor in hopelessness, she accidently bumped into someone, causing her to stumble back, lose her footing, and fall on her rear, the objects in her hands clattering to the ground.

"Oh, sorry about that," a young voice apologized, making Fluttershy flinch. She had messed up again! Fluttershy was too busy rubbing where she had landed to look at who she had bumped into. "Hey!" the voice continued with a happy tone, "You're that girl I saw!"

Fluttershy froze where she was, too afraid to see who she had walked into, but with a gulp, she did so anyway, coming face to face with the transfer student. She had not gotten a good look at him the first time he presented himself, but now that she was a few feet away from him, she could easily see his childish face with brown spiky hair.

Fluttershy whimpered, looking away as she hid her face from view. Out of all the people she could have bumped into, it had to be the transfer student. "S-Sorry, sorry!" she quickly apologized, hugging her legs in fear. "I didn't mean to laugh at you, or bump into you! I just… w-well, umm, I.."

"Hey, you don't have to apologize," the boy interrupted, taking her by surprise. "I probably shouldn't be deep in thought in the middle of the hallway anyway."

Taking a risk, Fluttershy glanced at the boy again, who had a smile on his face. It took her a moment longer to see that he was holding out a hand to help her up, while his other hand held a half-eaten apple. She took the hand hesitantly, unable to tear her eyes away from his own, which were ocean blue. With the boy's help, she was standing once again, and bowed her head, trying to hide her face away from him.

"T-Thank you," she squeezed out, playing with her hands nervously.

"No problem," the boy said with a shake of his head. "The name's Sora."

"I'm…" she started, then whispered the rest of her name, which Sora was just barely able to make out.

"Flutter what now?" Sora requested with a confused expression.

"Fluttershy," she said just a bit louder, but it was enough for Sora to hear.

"Oh, nice to meet you," he expressed, eating his apple contently. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Instead of answering, Fluttershy simply glanced at the objects she had dropped, and Sora took the hint when he saw the cleaning supplies. "Your cleaning the hallways?" he asked for confirmation.

She nodded, still averting her eyes. "_All_ of them?" he continued on, disbelief evident in his tone.

Again, Fluttershy nodded. "Well," Sora said, looking around him, "I'll help you out."

The statement caused Fluttershy to finally look at Sora, who still had his kind grin on his face. "Y-You want to help me?" she asked timidly, still not believing that a transfer student would suddenly come and assist her.

"Yeah, why not?" Sora said simply, picking up the items that Fluttershy had dropped. "With this many hallways, I don't know who wouldn't want to help you."

Fluttershy could name a few, even a lot, of people who would say otherwise. But she still smiled at his generosity. He was willing to spend the time to clean the halls with her, and she was very glad of it.

"Thank you, Sora," she said, causing Sora's smile to grow even wider.

"Don't mention it."

A man, cloaked in a black coat with a hood over his head, stood in the center of the lobby of the school. Holding his hand up to where his chin would be, he silently contemplated how to proceed with his orders. At the same time, he glanced at the area around him with a hint of interest. He pondered how people could decorate a building in such a fashion. In fact, he questioned the school as a whole. If it wasn't for the powerful magic his master had felt, not a single soul would know, or even care, that this place existed. It was a trivial thought, however, and he focused back on his objective.

At that point, a Corridor of Darkness appeared behind him, with its oval shape of pure black. Another figure, clad in the same black coat with hood up, walked through, stopping a few meters from the first person. "So," the second figure said, having a laid-back tone. "Are you going to get started or what?"

The first figure looked over his shoulder, the hand still on his chin. "You do not understand the magic that is at work here," he said with a stern and calm voice. "It takes a delicate touch to find and destroy the magic of friendship."

"As if," the second figure waved off, "You act all high and mighty, but in the end you're just too soft to deal with things like this."

"And you act like an imbecile," the first figure snapped, walking away from him.

"Hey, hey," the second figure called, causing the first to halt to hear what he had to say. "If you think you can handle this all on your own, then I guess there's no reason for me being here."

"Exactly," the first figure agreed, about to continue his walk before the second figure cleared his throat.

"But you know," the second figure said, dramatically looking at the ceiling as if deep in thought. "It sure would be difficult with that _keybearer _running around."

The first figure remained still, thinking over the other's words. "He has already arrived then?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Sure has," the second figure answered, "I'm surprised you didn't know yet. You're slipping."

The first figure fumed over the other figure's words. His master had explicitly ordered him to take care not to draw attention until the time was right. But time was short if the keybearer had already arrived. "Very well then," the first figure gave in with a small nod. "We'll do it your way."

The first figure raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant, Black blobs formed on the floor, and monsters began to emerge from them. They were about waist high, with two, long antennae that stretched to their lower back. They were humanoid, but had large claws on their hands and inhuman, round yellow eyes.

The second figure chuckled, his whole body shaking from his laughter, "Yeah, this is more like it!"

"If this fails, you'll have to answer to our master," the first figure explained plainly as he turned towards him.

"The old coot?" the second figure scoffed, "As if. He sent you to do this. I just tagged along for the ride."

"Then you can stay around to see if your little plan works," the first figure said in a bout of anger. A Corridor of Darkness enveloped him, and he disappeared without a trace.

The first figure looked at the Heartless the first figure had summoned and crossed his arms with a shake of his head. "Spoilsport," he muttered, before he too was gone in a Corridor of Darkness. The Heartless in the lobby, growing restless, began to shamble down the hallways of the school, hungry for hearts.

Having found another mop, Sora was busy cleaning the floors with Fluttershy, who seemed much happier that he had offered to help. Between the two of them, they were cleaning the floors fairly quickly, but they still had a ways to go. They were quiet as they stood by each other with mops in hand, pushing against the floor to scrub the muck. Feeling slightly bored, Sora decided to strike up a conversation.

"Say Fluttershy," Sora started, gaining her attention as she turned to him, stopping in her work, "Have you seen a guy named Riku around?"

"Sorry, Sora," she apologized as Sora stopped his work as well to face her. "I haven't heard anyone by that name before."

Sora sighed, but nodded in thanks. "Are you looking for him?" Fluttershy followed up, curious as to Sora's question.

"Yeah," Sora answered with a smile, "He's a good friend of mine that went missing a while ago."

"Oh, I hope you find him then," Fluttershy said sincerely.

"I know I will," Sora said, looking off to the side in thought. "I won't give up until I find him."

Fluttershy smiled at his bravado, and continued cleaning the floors. Sora was about to do the same thing, but he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Looking over, he didn't see anything besides the empty hallway. He glanced over to Fluttershy, but she behaved like she hadn't seen a thing. Facing the hallway, Sora jumped back from the sight: A Neo Shadow was standing there, tilting its head quizzically.

Narrowing his eyes, Sora saw the Heartless dash out of sight into another hallway. If Heartless were here, then that meant that they were hunting for the magic of friendship. He had to stop them before they could find it and destroy friendship as he knew it.

"Fluttershy," he called, and she looked towards him with a smile. "I, uh, have to do something. Do you think we can call it a day?"

Fluttershy was confused, a frown emerging, "I guess we can stop for now. What do you-"

"Thanks, Fluttershy," Sora said, dropping his mop and bolting down the hall where he last saw the Heartless. He ran around the corner, seeing the Heartless go through another hallway. When Sora reached it, he was met with many Heartless, waiting for his arrival. He screeched to a halt, wondering how the Heartless were able to plan an ambush. He didn't have the time to stick to the thought as the Heartless charged towards him.

His face turning serious, Sora threw his arm out to the side and summoned his keyblade, Kingdom Key, in a flash of light and got ready for battle. The first Heartless took a swipe at him, but Sora ducked and sliced right through it, and it disappeared in a black mist. Three more tried to leap at him, jumping into the air for a pounce. Sora saw it though and jumped back, readying his keyblade. When they landed, he surged forward, swinging his keyblade three times, one for each Heartless, and they all disappeared.

Sora saw two more zig-zagging down the hallway towards him, and he readied his keyblade once more. The closest one swung its arm at him, but he jumped up and landed on its arm, rendering the Heartless useless for a moment. The other Heartless jumped over the other to catch Sora off guard, but Sora simply swung his keyblade vertically and swiftly destroyed the two of them in one blow.

Seeing that there was still more Heartless to take care of, Sora gripped his keyblade tightly, and rushed forward. With each Heartless that came by, Sora swung his keyblade and destroyed it. He was very successful, able to take down each enemy as he ran through the hallway. When he reached the end, he found the lobby was full of Heartless, each wanting a chance to take his heart.

Undeterred from the sight, Sora jumped into the fray, swinging his keyblade down on top of a Heartless. With the Heartless destroyed, he swung in a large arc, taking out a lot of the remaining Heartless. The surrounding enemies charged for him, and Sora couldn't see a way out using conventional means.

Sticking his keyblade in the air above him, he shouted, "Gather!"

A vortex of light emerged from the end of his keyblade, and it began drawing the Heartless from around the room, forcing them to orbit the vortex in Sora's Magnet spell. With the Heartless occupied, Sora jumped up and took swipes at any passing Heartless, and eventually the area was clear of enemies.

After looking in each direction for any more Heartless, Sora relaxed, his keyblade disappearing in a flash of light. He wondered who could have summoned the Heartless. They weren't smart enough to organize a trap, so someone must have used them.

"It must be Xehanort," he said to himself with a shake of his head. "He must have thought he could knock me off."

Then, with a smirk, he crossed his arms triumphantly. "Guess I showed him," he remarked with a chuckle. He turned his head to the hallway and gaped, seeing Fluttershy standing there, looking frightened as she quivered where she stood. Did she watch him battle the Heartless?

"Fluttershy?" Sora called gently, taking a step towards her. Fluttershy flinched and ran for the door with eyes clamped shut.

"Wait!" Sora exclaimed, running after her. He only got outside before he decided it wasn't worth chasing her, and he watched helplessly as she ran down the sidewalk and out of sight. She feared him now, and Sora dipped his head low at the thought. He had made and lost a friend that day, and he hoped he could make it up to her later.

Sora walked back into the school, noticing that it was late afternoon. Wanting to get to bed early, he made his way back up the way he came to the Gummi Ship on the roof, entering it and closing the platform behind him. He climbed into his bunk, but as he was lying there, with his hands behind his head, he found that he couldn't drift off to sleep, still feeling bad that he had scared Fluttershy.

A man in a black coat was pacing furiously in the lobby that once held the battle between Sora and the Heartless. He couldn't believe his plan didn't work, though he should have known that Sora would have easily slain the Heartless.

"So it failed?" a figure said, stepping behind the first figure who froze from the voice. "Can't say I'm surprised."

"Look, you," the first figure snapped, whipping around as he pointed at the other. "I'm sure you wouldn't have done any better."

"Oh really?" the second figure asked, "You forget who's in charge here. And besides they were only Heartless, they can be replaced."

"Whatever," the first figure said, waving a hand dismissively. "So what did the old coot have to say?"

"Our master does not care that the keybearer has arrived ahead of time," the second figure informed with a hint of surprise. "In fact, he thinks of it as an opportunity to eliminate him ahead of time."

"Doesn't he need him to make that fancy weapon he always goes on about?" the first figure questioned.

"Yes and no," the first figure explained, walking over to the display case full of trophies. "He needs seven wielders of the light, but that does not mean he needs the keybearer. He can find a suitable replacement in due time."

"Okay then," the first figure said with a chuckle, his old mood returning swiftly. "What does he want us to do then?"

"To simply observe," the second figure said, glancing over to the other. "And await for the time to strike again."

The first figure groaned, "He knows I hate waiting around."

"Then maybe you should attend the classes held here," the second figure said, his calmness never wavering, "You might learn a thing or two."

The first figured chuckled, "Gee, I just don't know."

Silence was all there was for a minute before the second figure spoke again. "Keep an eye on the keybearer," he ordered, a Corridor of Darkness appearing before him, "I shall continue my search for the special magic here."

When he stepped into the portal, he disappeared along with the portal itself. Leaving the first figure alone again. "As if," he said to no one as a Corridor of Darkness took him out of the area.

* * *

**I listen to all suggestions, so feel free to give me some ideas!**


	3. Chapter 3: More to Go

**Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil**

**Chapter 3: More to Go**

All Sora could feel was nothingness. Pure darkness was all around him, and though it didn't consume him, it also didn't allow him the element of feeling either. Then, he found himself floating, slowly falling towards whatever was waiting for him below. Groggily, he was able to regain movement, and even sight in time; but it was still too dark to make out anything. In a few seconds, he was righted so he would be standing, and landed gently on a solid surface.

On instinct, Sora looked down to see a glass surface, one that was very familiar, yet not. It was mostly purple with circles all along the rim, and a smaller circle - taking the upper-half of the pillar - held seven equal circles inside of it. He had seen those glass pillars, sure, but the design was empty. There wasn't anything to signify what it represented.

Before Sora could hope to think on it further, a voice spoke in his head. It was empty, like the words were simply appearing in his mind, rather than being spoken. "There is Darkness in Light," it said, causing a chill to run down Sora's spine. "And Light in Darkness. There cannot be one without the other."

Sora looked around the darkness that surrounded him, as if he could find the one that said these words, but to no avail. "Six elements are what oppose the Darkness." It continued, "Six elements, but one meaning."

Sora had no idea what the voice could be talking about, but remained silent. He knew there was no point in trying to reply, as he didn't even know if the voice would respond. "Do the six make up the one, or does the one make up the six? That is for you to find out."

Sora frowned at the voice's riddles. They had never made much sense, even when he first found himself here. One of the circles in the smaller circle glowed cyan as an image appeared. Sora walked over to it with curiosity, and the light faded away to reveal Rainbow Dash, wearing a different outfit than what he saw her in.

"Loyalty…" the voice echoed ominously.

What exactly would that mean? Is Rainbow loyal to someone, or is it just her personality? Confused, Sora shook his head, and awaited for something else to happen. Inevitably, another light, this one yellow, glowed in another circle across from Rainbow's image. Looking over, the image showed Fluttershy, wearing the same outfit Rainbow Dash had on.

"Kindness…" the voice said.

First loyalty, now kindness. Sora couldn't understand what these meant or what those two girls had to do with it, but felt like it would reveal itself in time. When that would be, he didn't know. It couldn't be something bad, he felt confident of that, but he knew that not finding out could lead to dire consequences.

"Find the rest," the voice said, "And the meaning will become clear."

"The rest of what?" Sora finally asked, looking up at the nothingness above. He was tired of being left clueless. The voice didn't reply, nor did he really expect it to, as Sora was left to his thoughts. Did it mean find the other people that filled these circles? And if that was the case, how would he know where to find them? A few seconds later, Sora felt himself sink into the ground. Alarmed, he flailed about, trying to pull himself out as he saw that the entire platform had disappeared, leaving only the darkness that he felt before. As he slowly sank into the abyss, he heard the voice speak again, only this time it was difficult to make out.

"You are the key to the end. How it will end shall lie with you."

With those words ringing in his ears, Sora sank faster, his efforts to escape becoming futile. Soon, only his hand were left, reaching out for whatever it was worth. To his surprise, he felt a hand grasp his, but when he thought about it, it wasn't really one hand. It was six hands. With the hands tightly grasping his own, they pulled, and brought him out of the Darkness.

Sora's eyes shot open, and he instantly sat up in his bed. Though he regretted doing that, as he banged his head against the roof of his bunk. He was back in the Gummi Ship, back in reality, and it was painful. Rubbing his sore head, Sora climbed out of bed, still feeling sleepy as he walked to the cockpit.

"What was that about?" he questioned, shaking his head slowly. Sitting in the pilot's chair, he gazed outside to the rising sun, his mind drawing a blank from finding a conclusion. What did Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have in common? And why were they referred to as 'loyalty' and 'kindness'? It was a peculiar mystery. Knowing there was no way he was going to find his answers from sitting around, Sora jumped up from the chair and stretched his arms.

"Time for my first day of school," he reminded himself. He hadn't been to school in years, and it would be refreshing for him to return after so long. Flipping a switch, the ramp under the Gummi Ship lowered, and Sora ran down it, heading over to the edge of the roof.

Peering down, Sora could see all the students milling about in the front yard of the school, either heading inside or talking with friends. He found it relaxing to stand up there, high above the ground with the sun shining on him. It gave him a sense of belonging, like he had experienced it many times before, even though he hadn't. It also gave him a craving for sea-salt ice cream.

Focusing back to the ground, Sora saw Fluttershy standing in front of the statue of a horse. She looked to be holding a piece of paper in one hand, with a stack of papers in her other arm. She was conversing with Rainbow Dash, whom he had met the day before, and a white-skinned girl, who had dark purple hair. The girl had on a purple skirt with a very light blue blouse. Fluttershy must have been friends with them.

Turning back to Fluttershy, Sora remembered how he had involuntarily scared her away. "I need to talk to her." Sora muttered, for he knew it was the right thing to do, even if she didn't want to see him again.

How Sora would bring up the subject and get her to forgive him would be a challenge, but Sora knew that he could do it. Wanting to get to her quickly, Sora looked directly below him to judge how far he would have to jump. It was only two stories down, and he had fallen from higher places without trouble. Satisfied with his analysis, he took a step back, and leapt off the building.

Fluttershy was having her typical Wednesday morning. As in, she was handing out fliers for the local animal shelter, and she was being ignored. Though she tried valiantly, it was only a repeat of last week, and the week before that, and the week before that. Holding out a flyer was hardly working, but what else could she do?

"Canterlot's animal shelter needs more volunteers," she called out rather desperately, "Won't you help an animal that can't help itself?"

However, everyone continued on their way, barely giving her a second glance. Sighing, Fluttershy continued waving the flyer in her hand. She promised herself that she would do this every week, and she was sticking to that, even if she felt like she would break down into tears.

With the extra time, Fluttershy thought back to the scene involving Sora and those black creatures. She was really frightened to find them there, disappearing in a black mist every time Sora hit one. Not only that, but the weapon he was using was so bizarre. In truth, she didn't really know what to think of Sora. Why would he be fighting them? And why did he use a weapon that looks like a key?

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash's voice exclaimed happily, knocking Fluttershy out of her thoughts as she jumped. When she looked over, she saw Rainbow approach with another of her friends.

"Oh, hello Rainbow, hi Rarity," she replied with a smile. Rainbow simply waved back, but Rarity looked very relieved and cheerful, practically skipping with joy.

"Handing out fliers again, I see?" Rarity said, sounding like the whole idea was wonderful, and when Fluttershy nodded, she let out a loud, "Marvelous!"

"You sound happy today," Fluttershy said, glad to see her so relaxed. Because of Rarity's work, Fluttershy rarely saw her outside of school, and other times, she would be so tired that she could barely utter a word.

"Yeah, no kidding," Rainbow commented with a smirk, gently elbowing Rarity in the gut. Rarity giggled at the gesture, which was uncommon in that type of situation.

"I most certainly am happy," Rarity revealed, hugging herself as she explained, "It took me days, but I finally finished the dress I've been working on."

"That's good," Fluttershy said, her mind involuntarily going back to Sora again, causing her smile to falter. Rainbow was the first to notice and she frowned with a raised brow.

"You okay, Fluttershy?" she asked, "You look kind of down."

Rarity was able to snap out of her happy mood to see what Rainbow meant, looking at Fluttershy with concern. Fluttershy felt pressured as she hugged her fliers, unsure on how to respond to the question.

"Y-Yes," Fluttershy stuttered, but seeing their faces, she quickly added, "Well, I mean, not really."

"Come on, you can tell us," Rainbow said reassuringly, giving her a worried look. Fluttershy hadn't told her friends about the incident with Sora, and she wasn't really sure why. Probably because she didn't want to bother them with something she didn't fully believe herself. Plus, she didn't know how the best way to describe the scene.

"W-Well," Fluttershy sighed, searching for the right words to use. "Do you remember the transfer student, Rainbow?"

"Yeah, the spiky-haired guy," Rainbow recalled, as she crossed her arms with a hint of impatience, "What about him?"

"Transfer student?" Rarity asked, looking between the two, "When did we get a transfer student?"

"Just yesterday," Rainbow said, looking irritated, "Now, what about this guy?"

"His name is Sora," Fluttershy kindly reminded, making Rainbow sigh in exasperation.

"Can you just tell us what he did?" Rainbow groaned, sagging her body.

"Um, you see, he sort of-" she started slowly.

"Did this 'Sora' hurt you!?" Rarity exclaimed, drawing stares from passing students. Just like Rarity to jump to the worst conclusions.

"N-No," Fluttershy stammered, suddenly feeling like she was tattling on Sora. He hadn't done anything wrong, but her friends really wanted to know, otherwise they would pester her until she told them. "He just… scared me."

Rarity and Rainbow glanced at each other with concern before turning back to Fluttershy, who was staring at the floor pitifully, a few fliers slipping from her grip and onto the ground.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, darling?" Rarity requested, putting a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"I didn't know if you would believe me," she revealed, feeling embarrassed about the whole thing.

Rainbow sidled up to Fluttershy with a genuine smile, wrapping an arm around Fluttershy's shoulder. "We're your friends, Fluttershy," she said, "You can tell us anything!"

Rarity smiled as well, stepping to Fluttershy's other side to wrap her own arm around her. "Besides," she added, "after the whole mess with the Twilight and the crown, I think we can handle anything."

Fluttershy looked up at Rarity, seeing the sincerity on her face, and Rainbow's was no different. How could she doubt her friends like that? She should have had more faith in them.

"Thanks," she whispered, feeling glad she had friends like them. She looked to the sky, her mood having lifted considerably, and when her eyes passed over the roof of the school, her smile quickly faded into confusion. "Oh, why is he on the roof?"

Puzzled, Rainbow and Rarity gave her a funny look before seeing what she was talking about, and they saw Sora hanging out on the roof, just standing there. Many other students had stopped in their tracks to stare at him as well, already muttering amongst themselves.

"At least it's easier to find him," Rainbow growled, releasing Fluttershy as she took a few steps forward.

"I concur," Rarity said, also letting Fluttershy go as she stood beside Rainbow. "We shall teach this transfer student not to scare our-"

He had jumped off the roof. The whole courtyard was taken by surprise as they saw him falling to the ground. "What is he doing!?" Rarity shouted, her jaw wide open. Rainbow was just as taken aback, simply standing in shock. Fluttershy was completely speechless, her mind going blank as she watched Sora grow closer and closer to the ground. She couldn't process why Sora would do such a thing, but turned away, too afraid to see what would happen when he landed.

After a few seconds, she peeked again, and her surprise had doubled ten fold. Sora had stuck the landing, and was running over to them like it was nothing. He had jumped off a two-story building, landed, and simply walked it off. To say that she, or everyone who had seen the stunt, were shocked would be an understatement.

After sticking the landing, like he always did, Sora headed straight for Fluttershy, ignoring the stares he had earned. As he neared her, he tried to think of what exactly to say to her, but was coming up with nothing. He hoped she would accept a simple apology, because that was all he had. Rainbow and the purple-haired girl were gawking at him the entire time, until he had stopped a ways away from them, uncertain if they would want him near them.

Looking over to Fluttershy, he saw her hide her face from him using her hair. He rubbed the back of his head as he waited for the words to pop in his head like he hoped they would. Knowing he had to say something, he opened his mouth to at least say hello, but didn't have the chance.

"How did you _do _that?" Rainbow questioned, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Distracted from his objective, Sora turned to her with a raised eyebrow and tilted head. "Uh, do what?" he asked back, not understanding what she meant.

"Jump off the school," the purple-haired girl explained pointing to the building, which Sora faced to fully comprehend their meaning.

He shrugged, "I always do that."

"Huh!?" the two exclaimed simultaneously.

Shaking his head at their behavior, Sora turned his focus back to Fluttershy, who still hadn't looked at him since he had arrived. "Fluttershy," Sora started with a guilty frown, making Fluttershy take a quick glance at him before hiding again.

Rainbow and the purple-haired girl were quickly knocked out of their stunned demeanor and furrowed their brows at him. They stood between Sora and Fluttershy like a wall, as they bore down on him like a kid caught stealing from the cookie jar. "How _dare_ you come see Fluttershy again, you ruffian!" the purple-haired girl shouted, making Sora jump back. He didn't think he scared her that bad, but maybe he had frightened her more than he had thought.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he tried to explain, waving his arms in front of himself.

"Right," Rainbow drawled with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms. Sora sighed, his shoulders slumping. He didn't think apologizing would be this hard.

"You… want to say you're sorry?" Fluttershy said quietly, earning a look from Rainbow and Rarity.

Sora gave a friendly smile, "Yeah. I mean, I didn't do it on purpose."

"I guess not," Fluttershy admitted, blushing slightly at Sora's kindness. It's like he cared about everyone he met, even if he hadn't truly met them yet. "Thank you, Sora."

Sora sighed, glad to have that off his chest, and nodded at her. Rainbow looked between the two as Rarity looked Sora over, studying his outfit.

"What exactly did he do to scare you anyway?" Rainbow asked at last, making Sora suddenly nervous. He didn't want to force Fluttershy to lie to her friends, but he didn't want too many people knowing about everything that had happened. Fluttershy was evidently indecisive herself, as she backed away from the tension.

"Um, he… he just…" she said weakly, trying to stall for whatever it was worth, but knew deep down that there would be no way out of an explanation.

It was at that moment, that the three heard someone yell, "Get out of my way!"

When they looked over, they saw Sunset Shimmer shove her way past the other students, and a few jumped out of the way in freight. Rarity scoffed at her attitude and looked the other way, obviously unhappy with the way Sunset treated others. As Sora watched her move away from them towards the entrance of the school, he found himself asking, "What's her problem?"

"The question is," Rainbow corrected with a huff, "What _isn't_ her problem."

"She was always so mean before Twilight Sparkle came," the purple-haired girl elaborated, "Practically ruling the school, come to think of it."

"So, what exactly did Twilight do?" Sora asked, becoming interested in the tale.

"She brought everyone together," Rainbow said, a huge grin on her face. "It was _awesome_! Especially when she used magic to take down Sunset when she became a monster!"

That got Sora's attention, as he leaned forward with a concerning face. "Monster!?" he blurted, before crossing his arms while facing the ground, thinking over what he had learned. Cadence had told him that a monster had appeared during a dance. Perhaps they were and and the same. Facing forward, Sora was startled to see the purple haired girl right next to him, examining his clothes critically.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked with a chuckle, finding it a bit amusing to find her so attentive to his outfit.

The purple-haired girl jerked up slightly from being addressed, and slowly looked up towards Sora's bemused expression. With a slight blush, she jumped back with an embarrassed smile. "N-Nothing at all, darling," she laughed nervously, facing away from him.

"What's your name anyway?" Sora asked, suddenly feeling rude for not asking earlier.

The purple-haired girl turned back to him with a gasp, "We haven't been properly introduced! Oh, please excuse me for that, but I am Rarity."

"It's alright," Sora waved off, "We can call it even for chewing me out. Oh, and I'm Sora."

Rarity giggled, "Splendid."

"Anyway," Sora chuckled, before turning serious, "Someone told me that a monster attacked the dance. Was Sunset that monster?"

"Yep," Rainbow answered with a sigh, "She nearly destroyed us too, if it wasn't for those-"

The bell suddenly rang, alarming everyone that classes were to begin soon. As the students in the front yard began to file into the building, the four blinked in surprise. Time had passed faster than they had thought.

"Oh, man, I can't be late for Algebra again!" Rainbow shouted, sprinting for the school as the other three watched. "I'll catch you guys later!"

Rarity brushed her skirt, "I guess Fluttershy and I should be off for Chemistry."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, quickly collecting the pieces of paper that had fallen. Sora remembered he had his own class to get to, but for the life of him, couldn't recall where it was.

"Will we see you soon, Sora?" Fluttershy asked sweetly, smiling. Sora had made a good impression on her, even though he had made messed up.

"Yeah, of course," Sora answered with a firm nod, knowing he would keep his promise. "But… do you know where Miss Cheerilee's room is?"

"Oh, that was where Rainbow was headed off to," Rarity said, already heading out herself. "You should ask her before it's too late."

"Thanks," Sora said, running for the school. Fluttershy and Rarity walked with each other towards the entrance, catching the last glimpse of Sora as he swung open the doors and went inside.

As Fluttershy and Rarity entered, they both talked briefly about the exchange with Sora.

"He certainly is different from everyone else I met," Rarity commented, looking over to Fluttershy, who simply nodded. "So childish, yet responsible! How did you two meet?"

"He helped me with my detention," Fluttershy answered, playing with the flyers in her hands.

"Really?" Rarity said in mild disbelief, gazing out in a daydream. "How noble! And his clothing is so elegant and stylish; It fits him perfectly!"

As Rarity continued saying remarkable things about Sora, Fluttershy thought back to how Sora had apologized to her. He had seeked her out, even jumping off a building, just to say he was sorry. How he went through such lengths to help out someone he had barely known was truly fantastic. With a small smile, she hoped she would run into him again soon.

Sunset Shimmer was aggravated to no end. It wasn't really from something that happened to her that morning, as she was actually having a normal day, but it was the gossip she heard when she got to school. Gossip about a certain spiky-haired boy.

As she stormed through the hallways, Sunset let her mind wonder how that boy was getting so well-known so fast. After the incident at the Fall Formal, she had to lie to get Twilight Sparkle off her back, pretending like she wanted to make friends. She still couldn't believe how oblivious Twilight and her friends were that she had 'reformed' so quickly. And when Twilight left back to Equestria, the pony world, she instantly went back to her old habits, wanting to rebuild her status that the princess had destroyed in only three days.

It was a slow process, as the students hadn't forgotten what Sunset had done at the dance. But over the last few weeks, she had reminded them why she was in charge of the school to begin with. Blackmail worked wonders. Even though the Twilight of this world enrolled in this school, Sunset knew she was no threat, and she was basically unopposed. However, with the arrival of that boy, everything she had been working on was crumbling as the students only talked about _him_. Sure, it may just start off with a small rumor of him jumping off a building, one that she doubted happened, but eventually he would become more famous, and knock her off her pedestal.

As she stopped at her locker to collect her things for her next class, she heard someone running down the hallway. Turning her head, she saw the same boy run past her without a glance at her, intent on going where he needed to get to. Just seeing him go by made Sunset grow even angrier. She would have to put that boy in his place, show him who the real talk of the school was.

"You are going to wish you never came to this school," Sunset sneered, a grin appearing on her face as she slammed her locker shut. She was already coming up with a plan, and in time, she would implement it.

Gasping for breath, Lea put his hands on his knees as he desperately tried to regain his breath. He never imagined being a keyblader would be so much work. Of course, it was much harder for him than Kairi, as he was so used to wielding his Chakrams. Using a keyblade was so different: the fighting style, the magic, everything. It had taken its toll on him.

"Come on, Lea," Kairi called out from the other side of the yard in front of an abandoned mansion, holding her keyblade, Destiny's Embrace. "You can't be tired already!"

Lea couldn't help but chuckle at her behaviour. She had been so dedicated to her training that she probably ignored the fatigue over all. She wanted to be at her friends' sides in battle by the time she was done.

Taking a deep breath, Lea said back, "Why don't we take a break. I could use one after all the beating I've been taking."

Kairi giggled and nodded, making Lea instantly fall into a sitting position with a sigh of relief, resting against his hands as he leaned back. Walking over to him, Kairi sat beside him as Lea observed his surroundings. He was still a bit surprised that the King would hold their training in Twilight Town. It felt so long ago when he was last here. It reminded him so much of his best friend, Roxas, and the times they had shared together.

"Hey, Lea," Kairi said, gaining his attention as he turned to her, "You never told me why you're still wearing that black coat. Couldn't you get something else to wear?"

Looking at himself, Lea certainly did have the same black coat he had been wearing for the longest time. "Well, yeah, I could if I wanted to," Lea answered, with a smile, looking back at the sky. "But I make this look good. And it's quite comfortable." He faced Kairi, tapping the side of his head, "Got it memorized?"

Kairi nodded, her smile growing at Lea's catchphrase. She herself looked up at the sky with Lea, her mind drifting off to other things. "I wonder how Sora's doing," she commented out of nowhere, making Lea look at her strangely.

"Why suddenly bring that up?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just thinking out loud," she replied, and Lea rubbed his chin in thought.

"Well," he started, sticking a finger in air matter-of-factly. "He's probably making more friends. Knowing him, he'll probably have twice as many as he had before."

"But he won't forget us," Kairi said her smile never wavering, "Right?"

"Yeah," Lea said, punching the palm of his hand, "Or else he's going to have to answer to me."

Kairi laughed at his joke, just as King Mickey came through the woods over to them, holding something behind his back. Seeing his return, Kairi stood up and met him halfway, while Lea remained where he sat, looking over nonchalantly.

"I see ya two are taking a break, huh?" King Mickey said, looking over to Lea, who gave an idle wave to him.

Kairi put her hands on her hips as she turned towards Lea, "Only because Lea begged for one."

"Hey!" Lea exclaimed with a smile, pointing a finger at her. "If I wasn't so new to this keyblade, I wouldn't be half as tired."

Kairi rolled her eyes as King Mickey smiled warmly. "Well," he started, standing on his toes, "It's a good thing I brought these then."

As Lea and Kairi gave him confused expressions, King Mickey showed them what he was hiding behind his back: three bars of sea-salt ice cream. The sight made Lea give a bark of excitement as he jumped to his feet and walked over to him. King Mickey handed one to Kairi and Lea, keeping one for himself, and the three simultaneously licked the ice cream.

"It's salty…" Kairi said, giving the ice cream an odd look.

"But sweet," Lea finished, licking it again before realizing something. "Oh, this is the first time you've eaten sea-salt ice cream, isn't it?"

When Kairi nodded, Lea gave a quick chuckle, "Well, just don't eat it too fast, and enjoy it while it lasts."

As the three ate their ice cream contently, they each gave the same thought of how delicious it was. As Kairi glanced up, she caught sight of a cluster of gold dust heading straight for them. "Hey, what's that?" she asked the group, pointing directly towards it.

Though Lea had no clue, King Mickey knew exactly what it was. "That's Master Yen Sid's magic!" he said as the gold dust neared the ground a few meters away from where they stood. The dust swirled amongst each other and two figures fell out of it, one landing right on top of the other

"Donald! Goofy!" King Mickey exclaimed happily.

It truly was Sora's companions, Donald and Goofy, though they didn't look nearly as heroic while Goofy was sitting on Donald. Goofy looked up from his position and smiled broadly. "Hello, your majesty!" he said, and looked over to Lea and Kairi, "Oh, and hello to you too, Lea and Kairi."

Lea and Kairi held back their laughter as they waved at him, and Goofy returned the wave. Donald, on the other hand, was still on the ground with Goofy right on top of him, drumming his fingers on the ground irritably.

"Get off me, you big palooka!" Donald shouted, making Goofy look down on where he landed. As soon as he noticed Donald, he instantly got off, though a bit sluggishly.

"Oh, Sorry Donald," Goofy apologized, scratching the back of his head, "I didn't know you were there!"

Donald grumbled to himself as he pushed himself to his feet, wiping the dirt off of his sleeves. Lea had missed these two considerably, as they were not only courageous, but also funny to be around. "What brings you guys here?" he asked, causing the Donald and Goofy to face him, with a look of worry, as Donald crossed his arms and Goofy played with his hands. That made Lea a bit nervous, seeing as they were hardly ever like that.

"Master Yen Sid sent us," Goofy explained, "He has an important mission for you guys."

"A mission, huh?" Lea said with a shake of his head and a grin, crossing his arms, "Where would you guys be without us?"

* * *

**Here's a question: what would you guys want to see in this story? I have most of the story planned out, but I love hearing suggestions!**


	4. Chapter 4: Friends and Enemies

**Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil**

**Chapter 4: Friends and Enemies**

A Corridor of Darkness appeared in the front lawn of the school directly in front of the statue. A man, clad in a black coat with a hood up, stepped through, facing the statue's high foundation where a solid, concrete wall was. He could feel a small amount of magic seeping through it; the magic of friendship. Though the world held its own magic of friendship somewhere, there was no denying that a small part of the magic was coming through this wall.

He wanted that magic to be destroyed.

However, for the time being, he needed it, as ironic as it sounded. A plan that his master had crafted was brilliant, but without this magic, it would not be able to come into play. He despised the magic of friendship as any of his comrades would agree, but he liked the idea that it would work in their favor.

Without further ado, he threw his arms to his sides as he focused on the wall, since the extra push he needed was right where he stood. In a few seconds, sparks began to fly between his hands and the wall. The sparks began to increase rapidly until there was a constant stream of electricity. He could feel the pressure building, with the magic all around him, and without a thought of what would happen, he clapped his hands together, causing the sparks to sink into his hands, creating a small shockwave that made his coat flow back as if a large gust of wind had swept by him.

As the burst died down, he waited a few moments before opening his hands. There sat a rough, purple crystal, that had an eerie glow to it. Smirking under his hood, the figure tossed the crystal to himself, snatching it out of the air.

His master would most certainly be pleased.

School was a lot harder than Sora remembered. Back when he was still attending, before his adventures truly began, he wasn't terrible in school, and was able to keep up good grades. But in Canterlot High, he was completely lost. All he could do, besides listening to the teacher's lesson, was sit there and act like he understood what was going on.

When the bell finally rang for the end of class, Sora gave a sigh of relief as he leaned back in his chair to relax. One thing he had also forgotten about was school supplies, but he figured he would be long gone before he would actually need them, same went for learning his subjects. As Sora pushed himself up, he saw Rainbow approach him from the corner of his eye, and he turned to face her.

"That class was boring," she commented as she stretched her arms, "Are the classes back at your old school more exciting?"

Sora looked at the ceiling as he tried to remember back, "I don't think so."

"Heh. Well, see ya," she said, stepping past him towards the door. "I gotta get to practice."

"Practice?" Sora asked, following her out of the room and into the hallway, "For what?"

"Soccer!" Rainbow said, with a swift kick to the open air for emphasis, "I'm the captain, so I have the team practice every chance we get."

Sora thought back to the last time he had seen the sport, but couldn't recall a moment. He was familiar with soccer, but he hadn't watched a game himself. "Mind if I tag along?" he asked, causing Rainbow to turn to him with a smirk.

"Sure, why not?" she laughed, "Pinkie Pie will probably be there, too, so you can meet her while you're there."

"Who's Pinkie Pie?" Sora asked as the two walked side by side, heading for the back exit of the school.

"She's a friend of mine," Rainbow explained, "But, uh, she can be a bit… random."

"I can't wait to meet her then," Sora chuckled, and Rainbow rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll meet you at the field," Rainbow said, stopping in her tracks as Sora looked back at her. "I have to change into my uniform."

"Okay, I'll see you there," Sora said with a wave, and he ran down the hall, quickly passing by students. Though he was new to the school, he didn't have a hard time finding the exit, and the next thing he knew, he was standing outside, looking over to the soccer field. There were already a few students warming up before practice started, stretching and kicking the ball between each other.

In the bleachers, Sora could see another student sitting there looking a bit over enthusiastic, what with her yellow foam finger and small, blue flag. Even from this distance, Sora could clearly see that she was pink, prominently so, and assumed that she must have been Pinkie Pie. Walking around the field to avoid interfering, Sora approached the bleachers, and when he did, Pinkie suddenly noticed him, jumping up from her seat.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, hopping down the bleachers cheerily until she landed in front of Sora. He didn't know what to think of her yet, but she was quite whimsical to say the least. Pinkie's skin was pale pink, and her pink hair was large and frizzy. She had on a white and blue shirt with a pink heart on it. The pink skirt she wore had three balloons on one side. "Are you the new transfer student named Sora?" she asked, leaning in excitedly, giving him a large smile.

"Yeah," Sora answered with a smile of his own, before tilting his head at her, "How did you know that?"

"I know a lot of things," she whispered to him as she glanced around her, though he didn't know why. She then brightened up as she said, "That, and Rarity texted me about you."

"So you're friends with Rarity?" Sora asked.

"Yep!" Pinkie said, then started counting her fingers as she said, "And Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle."

Sora laughed, honestly not expecting Pinkie to be this nice to be around, and also that she was friends with almost everyone he had met so far. "You're friends with Fluttershy, too?"

Pinkie nodded, before a thought crossed her mind and she saddened a bit. "Not all the time though," she admitted, looking ashamed of the prospect itself.

Seeing her mood switch so abruptly made Sora himself feel bad, as if whatever she felt reflected how everyone else around her felt. Frowning, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"That meanie Sunset Shimmer tried to break us apart," she explained, a moment of anger breaking out on her face before turning back to sorrow. "If it wasn't for Twilight, I don't think we would never ever be friends again."

That made Sora think for a minute. Why did Sunset try to break them apart to begin with? It didn't make sense for him, but he figured he could think more on it later, as Pinkie wasn't faring so well. She looked very upset with herself that she had, for a short time, not been friends with Fluttershy. Why Pinkie would suddenly be so sad about it confused him, but it must have just been something that she hadn't truly dealt with.

"Hey, don't be sad," Sora said in an effort to cheer her up, and Pinkie looked at him. "My friend Riku, and I weren't friends for a while too."

"Really?" she asked, a smile growing back on her face.

"Yeah," Sora said, taking a seat on the bleachers, and Pinkie followed suit, "He did something bad, but he made up for it. And as long as we're friends now, it doesn't matter what he did. The same goes for you and Fluttershy."

"That's super!" Pinkie said, instantly erupting into happiness, "You must have some great friends! Just like me!"

Sora was baffled that she had changed her mood on a dime like she had earlier, but remembered that Rainbow had said she was random. "You know it, Pinkie," Sora said with a nod.

"Where's your friend now?" she asked curiously, smiling at him innocently.

That time, Sora hesitated, scratching the back of his head as he looked away. Noticing this, Pinkie frowned a bit with a puzzled expression. "I don't really know," Sora answered, "I'm looking for him right now actually." He then perked back up as he turned to her, "You wouldn't happen to have seen him around, would you?"

Pinkie shook her head, "Sorry, I haven't a clue where he is."

Sighing, Sora looked at her with a grin, grunting to himself, "No worries, I'll find him eventually."

"That's the spirit!" Pinkie cheered, throwing her arms to the air as the school doors opened. Rainbow Dash walked through them with her yellow and blue uniform on, looking very confident. Seeing her, Pinkie jumped up from her seat with newfound excitement, pointing a finger over to Rainbow. "Oh! There's Rainbow! We gotta watch her now!"

"Yeah," Sora agreed, nodding for emphasis as he also stood up, climbing the bleachers with Pinkie to where she was originally seated. Though he had a mission to do, he thought he would have time to watch at least one soccer practice session.

The library at Canterlot High was large, holding a vast amount of books for anybody to access. The internet was also available to them, allowing the students to find whatever they needed if the library couldn't provide it. Unfortunately for Twilight Sparkle, it might come down to that. As she sat at one of the desks on the lower level, reading through another book about astronomy, she hoped that she wouldn't have to use the computers. She never liked the internet, as it wasn't as reliable as a good, old-fashioned book.

Closing the book she was holding, Twilight sighed, placing the book down on a large pile of other books, while reaching to a smaller pile for another one to look through. Her project was due in a few days, and she had nothing to show for it. She figured it would be easy to find something on what laid beyond their world, but ended up at more dead ends than she would like to admit. Hadn't anyone else done research about the worlds above besides star constellations?

As she flipped through the book, beginning to grow bored of reading for the first time in her life, Twilight's mind began to wander to other things that have happened over the last few weeks. She had transferred from her old school after a recommendation from her sister-in-law, Cadence. Over time in the school, she heard many things that had happened before she arrived. Some rather bizarre things, like how she had showed up this girl named 'Sunset Shimmer' at the school dance. She had never been to this school in her life, and had no recollection of ever standing up to another girl before.

Twilight was even nearly assaulted by five specific girls when they saw her, calling her 'pony princess' and such. When Twilight explained that she had no idea what they were talking about, they instantly took back what they said and became friends with her. It was all really peculiar.

She was brought back to reality when she heard a strange, unearthly noise behind her, one she couldn't describe in the slightest. When she turned around in her seat to see what it was, she found nothing as the noise was instantly cut off.

"Hello?" she called out nervously, glancing around. Whoever or whatever had made that noise was gone, but she was becoming uneasy and paranoid. Was someone watching her? As she turned back to her book, she heard the same noise again, and when she whipped around, she only saw something silver hide behind the computer center.

"I know you're there," she said as bravely as she could, standing from her chair. Nothing responded, making her play with her hands nervously. She heard a small bark from her backpack laying on the ground, and when she looked down, she saw her faithful dog, Spike. He was sticking out of her backpack while glaring at where she thought she saw someone, giving a low growl.

"I know, Spike," she said, crouching down and petting her dog on the head. "I don't think we're alone either."

She gave the room one last sweep before turning back to her books. Maybe she could stop her studying and pick up later, when she wasn't being involuntarily watched. She heard the strange noise yet again, but this time, when she turned to see if she could catch whatever was making it, she came face to face with a scary being in a silver suit.

Yelping in shock, Twilight jumped back, bumping into the table, sending a few of the books tumbling to the floor. The thing in front of her was nothing she had seen before, as it stood there, moving around like it was made of rubber in the middle of a dance. Its hands were nothing but long spear-like appendages, and it's legs were no different. It's head was like an open mouth with a zipper along the edge. The last thing she noticed was the strange symbol on the top of its head.

Spike was barking madly at the thing in front of her, but it was unfazed by him as it kept staring, even though it had no eyes. She didn't know what to do: run, communicate, or just wait until it left. Unfortunately, it took the choice out of her hands as it charged towards her head first.

Twilight ducked just in time as the thing flew over her head and slammed into the bookcase, falling to the ground as books cascaded on top of it. Breathing heavily, Twilight snatched her backpack, with Spike still barking at what had attacked her, and bolted for the exit, slinging her backpack on.

Twilight risked a glance back, and saw that the thing had already recovered, stretching its legs in a strange walk. Facing towards the double doors that led out of the library, she was shocked to see two more of the beings blocking her path. Veering off course, she headed to another part of the library, thinking of any other exit she could go through. It was at that moment that a large thing that resembled the previous monsters, landed in front of her.

It was much more different, with arms and legs that were huge. It even had its own weapon - a big, T-shaped claymore with a long, black handle - resting on its shoulders. As quickly as it appeared it swung its weapon back to prepare to swing down on her. Thankfully, Twilight saw it and dived to the side with a cry just as it landed, creating a small crater.

On the ground, Twilight hastily picked herself up, backing away from the brute cautiously. However, when she twirled around to run, she saw that two more of the brutes were in the way. In fact, when she looked in all directions, she could see that she was completely surrounded by them. Scared beyond belief, she looked desperately for a way to escape, but found none.

"W-What do you want?" she asked, hoping to at least know why these things wanted her gone. The monsters did not respond, or even move. They only stood and silently watched her, making Twilight even more frightened. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

Without an answer, one of the brutes brought its weapon to the side to attack her. Seeing it, Twilight shut her eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable, but instead heard a metallic clank as if it was blocked. Looking over, Twilight saw another weird sight: a boy, with spiky, golden blonde hair, wearing a black coat. In his each of his hands were two giant, key-like swords. One was white, having a flower-like design, and other other was black, going for a gothic look.

The boy looked over to her, and flashed her a smile. Who was this guy?

One moment, Roxas couldn't feel a thing, then the next, he could feel himself materializing, just coming into existence. It was an odd feeling, like every nerve in his body suddenly came alive, piece by piece.

He knew he was hovering in the air - his body facing away from the floor - for the time that he could remember. But once he was entirely in existence, he fell to the ground, causing his eyes to shoot open in surprise. Landing painfully on his head, Roxas groaned as he sat up from his position, rubbing the back of his head.

"Where… am I?" he asked himself, examining his surroundings. It appeared to be a library of some sorts, with the walls covered with shelves of books. The ceiling above had a glass dome, and based off the railing not to far away, he must have been on a higher floor.

"How did I get here?" he asked, standing up as he looked himself over. He was wearing his old Organization coat, but that hardly mattered when a thought struck him. "Wait a minute," he said excitedly, his face lighting up as he patted himself down, "I'm back! Ha! Wait 'till Axel see's this!"

With a smile on him he looked at his hands. "I wonder if I can…" he muttered, sticking out his hands, summoning the weapons he had grown to know. In a flash of light, his two keyblades, Oblivion and Oathkeeper, each appeared in his hands.

"Well, I still have these," he said to himself, dismissing the two keyblades as confusion crossed his face. He rubbed his chin as he said, "But how am I here? Shouldn't I be with Sora?"

Speaking of him, Roxas realized that Sora was nowhere in sight, as he looked around the area with more intention. From his time within Sora, Roxas couldn't really tell what Sora did or where he went. Rather, he could _feel _something within him when Sora was around certain people or places. Like knowing someone is in another room, but unable to actually go inside the room.

He remembered many beings drenched in Darkness at one point, which he assumed was Xemnas, though he hadn't a clue why there was so many. He also remembered being in a world where Light was quite abundant. Maybe Sora being in this world somehow made him come into existence? Shaking out these thoughts, Roxas knew he could figure out how he came back when he found Sora.

Before Roxas could decide where to start his search, he heard a cry from a girl, coming from the floor below. Running over to the railing, he was met with both a familiar and unfamiliar sight. Nobodies had surrounded a girl, who was dreadfully afraid as she glanced around. Her skin was light purple and her hair was plum purple with pink streaks. She had on a light blue shirt and a purple skirt with a starburst emblem.

The girl was talking with them, but all Roxas could focus on was the Nobodies themselves. It was just Berserkers and Dusks, nothing too major, but he thought Sora had taken down Xemnas a year ago. Who was ordering these Nobodies around? And why were they ganging up on this girl?

He suddenly saw one of the Berserkers pull back its claymore, preparing to strike the innocent girl. Instinct kicking in, Roxas narrowed his eyes as he jumped over the railing, summoning his keyblades as he landed between the girl and the attacking Nobody. He had made it just in time, blocking the attack with one of his keyblades just as he landed. Already, his mind was wondering if he still had his fighting abilities, planning on how to approach this battle.

Then, he briefly remembered why he was doing this in the first place, and glanced behind him to the girl, who was staring at him with both confusion and wonder. He gave her a reassuring smile, one that he hoped would tell her that he would help her, before turning back to the Nobodies with a determined expression. It was time to get to work.

Roxas pushed back on the claymore that he had blocked, causing the Berserker to stumble back slightly. With the opening, Roxas spun on the spot, allowing his keyblades to pass through the Nobody effortlessly. With the Nobody bursting into gray matter, returning to the nothingness from whence it came, he turned his attention to the other nobodies around the girl. He was almost daring them to attack first.

They did, expectedly, attack first, as two Dusks charged at him with their heads. He swung his keyblades horizontally outward, taking them out instantly. He then jumped up, twirling the keyblades until he wielded them underhanded, and sunk them through a Beserker. As the Nobody disappeared, another Berserker took advantage of the opening, and swung its claymore.

Roxas was only able to swivel on the spot midair and bring his keyblades up to block in an 'X' formation. However, when the attack connected, the inertia from the claymore sent him flying back. He flew through the open double doors, exiting the library, and slammed into the hallway wall. Grunting in pain, he landed on the floor as the keyblades were knocked out of his hands, clattering to the ground. He pushed himself to his feet with a groan, nursing his stomach, and then heard sounds from both ends of the hallway. Looking to each side hastily, he saw four or five more Dusks and Berserkers coming from each side.

"Oh, great," Roxas muttered, summoning his keyblades again as he got ready to fight. "Why do I have to fight as soon as I'm back?"

The Berserker from the library, who had ignored the girl, thankfully, was approaching Roxas through the doors. Surrounded on each side, Roxas decided to go through the weakest link and work from there. He leapt forward, swinging one of his keyblades upward at the Berserker, who had the foresight to block it. However, the attack was stronger than it thought and it knocked the Berserker off balance. With the opportunity, Roxas spun around and swung his other keyblade upward as well, destroying the Nobody.

Quickly, Roxas dashed into the library to funnel out the Nobodies that were coming. He whipped around when he felt like he was far enough away, and already saw a few Dusks hovering his way. Thinking fast, Roxas threw each keyblade, and both of them destroyed many of the incoming Nobodies. Before he could retrieve his keyblades, a Berserker came charging towards him.

With a smirk, Roxas easily jumped over the Berserker and landed just behind it. It was at that moment that his keyblades flew back at Roxas like boomerangs, and he caught them effortlessly, slashing through the berserker afterwards. Suddenly, Roxas was hit from behind, as one of the Dusks was able to sneak up on him. He quickly dispatched it with a quick spin-and-slash.

Roxas could feel himself growing tired as he was breathing hard. He had only come to exist for a few minutes, and he was growing sloppy because of it. He needed time to recuperate, but the Nobodies weren't going to give it to him. So, sucking it up, Roxas growled and went all out, running around the room and taking out each and every Nobody while dodging any attacks they dished out. The battle was incredibly fast, and Roxas was able to clear the room in a minute.

After finishing off the last Nobody, Roxas stood still for a moment, his breathing intensifying. He was feeling quite woozy as the room was spinning, and without warning, he collapsed to the ground, his keyblades falling with him before disappearing in a white light. He might be exhausted, but at least he had saved a life.

Twilight wasn't sure what she saw. Every form of logic she had ever known was thrown out the window. First these monsters tried to take her out, then this boy came out of nowhere and destroyed_them_ instead. And those weapons he was wielding, he was amazing with them. It was like the weapons were made for him.

She simply stood in a stupor as she stared at boy as he finished off the last one. She wanted to say something to him, but was unsure on what exactly to say. Before she had the chance, the boy fell to the ground as his weapons disappeared. Though Twilight was curious as to how they did that, she had more important business to attend to.

"Oh my gosh," she whispered, covering her mouth in shock as she quickly made her way to his side. She placed her backpack to the ground as she knelt beside the boy, turning him over to lie on his back. He was still alive, but was very tired, though he did have a bit of strength left as he looked over to her.

"Roxas," he got out, putting a hand over his chest, his eyes droopy.

"T-Twilight Sparkle," she said hastily, in case Roxas fell asleep before she could tell him.

"What a weird name…" he commented with a smile, as he drifted off to sleep. Despite the heroics of Roxas, Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes at his words. He said _her_ name was weird, but his own name was just as strange. Spike, who had climbed out of her backpack, sat by Roxas' head, watching him sleep with a tilt of his head.

"We need to get him help, Spike," Twilight said to him, causing Spike to bark in agreement, nudging Roxas with his nose. "I hope my family doesn't mind if I take him home…"

Sora had watched Rainbow play Soccer for the remainder of lunch, and was able to keep his stomach full thanks to Pinkie pulling a bunch of cupcakes from out of nowhere. When the bell rang, signaling the students that class would begin shortly, he stood up from his seat, feeling sore after sitting around for most of the day.

"That was super-ific!" Pinkie cheered one last time, jumping to her feet as Rainbow and her other teammates headed inside. Before she left, though, she waved over to Sora and Pinkie, and Pinkie jumped up and down, returning the wave. "Rainbow Dash is so awesome!"

"Yeah," Sora agreed, climbing down the bleachers with Pinkie, "She's pretty good."

"Pretty good?!" Pinkie scoffed playfully as they made it to the ground, "You mean super-mega-ultra-epicly good, right?"

Sora laughed at her antics, and nodded, turning to her. "I wish Riku and Kairi could meet you guys," he said, "We could all hang out together."

"I know who Riku is," Pinkie stated, tapping a finger on her chin as she looked to the sky, "But who's Kairi?"

"She's another friend of mine," Sora explained as they entered the school as he put his hands behind his head., "She's, uh, not in town right now."

"Maybe you can promise to bring them here sometime," PInkie said as she put her hands behind her back.

"Hey, I can do that," Sora said with excitement, stopping in his tracks with Pinkie.

"Do you Pinkie Promise?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

Sora blinked a bit before lifting up his right hand, sticking out his pinkie finger. "Yeah, okay," he said, a smile forming, "Pinkie promise."

"Not that, silly," Pinkie giggled, causing Sora to look at her funnily, putting his hand down. "It goes like this."

Clearing her throat dramatically, Pinkie said, "Cross my heart, hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye."

She even did the appropriate gestures, making Sora chuckle again. He was really liking Pinkie Pie. "That's great, Pinkie," he said with a nod slowly redoing what she had done. "Cross my heart… hope to fly…" His smile grew as he finished loudly, "Stick a cupcake in my eye!"

"Now you've got it!" Pinkie exclaimed happily, "So you promise to show us your friends someday?"

"Pinkie Promise!" Sora said, bumping a fist against his chest.

The library was dead quiet after the battle with Roxas and the Nobodies, but many people would call that normal. However, that silence was broken when a Corridor of Darkness appeared, and yet another man in a black coat walked through. He looked around the room a minute before crossing his arms.

"Oh dear," he said with a very snide and stilted voice. "That did not go according to plan at all."

"We had no say in the matter," said another voice, this one sounding younger and more uppity. The first figure looked over to the side and saw another man in a black coat, stepping out of the shadows . "Roxas was an unknown variable. Now that we know he has come back, it shall be easier to arrange another plan."

The first figure grunted in amusement, "I'm still surprised you were able to locate the origin of the friendship of magic."

"I have told you before," the second figure snapped, agitated as he gave a wave of his hand. "That girl has the magic we seek, yes, but it is not complete. As if she is only part of something much grander."

"In any case," the first figure said, turning away from the other, glancing around the room. "We need a new approach to our strategy, what with Sora, Xemnas, and now Roxas in the mix."

"What do you propose we do?" the second one asked, walking up to the first figure.

"Before we try another attempt at taking the magic of friendship," the first figure sighed, smirking under his hood, "We should see the full extent of our control over the Nobodies."

"My illusion can only go so far," the second figure warned darkly, "Do not trifle with those beings when you are no longer one yourself."

"Yes, yes, so you keep telling me," the first figure said with a bored tone, waving his hand dismissively, "Just whip something up for our… presentation tomorrow."

"Very well," the second figure said, turning around. He lifted an arm in front of himself, and summoned a Corridor of Darkness. Before he could leave though, the first figure spoke up.

"Oh, and don't alert Xemnas to our presence," he said without moving, "We don't need the trouble."

"Of course," the second figure agreed, walking through the portal. As it disappeared, the first figure gave a very creepy laugh, his body shaking because of it. He was going to enjoy a show and get what he wanted at once, and he was giddy with excitement.

* * *

**They won't all upload this fast, I just forgot to upload the previous chapter before. Anyway, I have a very good explanation on why Roxas is back, so be patient!**


	5. Chapter 5: Gathering Hearts

**Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil**

**Chapter 5: Gathering Hearts**

The rest of the school day went by pretty normally for Sora. His classes went by similarly to his first class, as he was still as clueless as ever. When the final bell rung, he almost let out a cheer, glad that he wouldn't have to sit through another lecture for the rest of the day. He never realized how boring school was, and must have only remembered the fun times he had with his friends.

As he shrugged the thought off, he stood up from his desk and followed the rest of the class out the door. Before he could decide on where to go, he was tackled from the side by a pink blur, falling to the ground with a shout of surprise. Looking at his attacker, he came face to face with Pinkie Pie, giving him a wide smile.

"Hey, Sora, what're you going to do today?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh, umm…" Sora replied, not even sure himself.

"Pinkie, Darling," Rarity called, walking down the hallway with Rainbow Dash beside her. "You must show Sora some respect. He's only been around for a day."

"I know," Pinkie said, hopping off of Sora quickly, "But that's why I'm so happy! I want to hang out with him so badly. I mean, just think of all the stuff we could do together!"

Getting back on his feet, Sora briefly dusted his shorts off before glancing around, noticing that someone was missing. "Where's Fluttershy?" he asked the group, knowing that she would have to clean the floors again.

Rainbow looked at the ceiling as she thought for a moment, "I think she said she was heading to the library to see Twilight, since no one has seen her at all lately."

"Twilight's another friend, right?" Sora asked for confirmation.

"Absolutely," Rarity answered, "Why, she's been so busy with that project of hers, that nobody has really seen her around."

Giving her a nod, Sora crossed his arms. "Fluttershy still has detention," Sora reminded everyone. "I was going to help her again like yesterday."

"That is truly kind of you, Sora," Rarity said respectively, "I wish I could join you, but Pinkie and I already made plans."

"We're working at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie cheered, giving a jump hug towards her. Rarity winced from the impact, but smiled none the less.

Sora looked to Rainbow, "What about you?"

"I have practice," Rainbow said, making Sora feel dumb for forgetting that as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Then I'll see you all later."

"Yep!" Pinkie said, "Oh, and if you see Applejack, tell her I said thanks for bringing the apples to Sugarcube Corner."

"Okay," Sora said, even though he had no idea who Applejack was. He figured he'd find her when he saw her, and gave the girls a final wave as he walked down the hall.

"Uh…" Rainbow said with confusion, making Sora look back at Rainbow, "Sora, the library's that way."

She pointed in the opposite direction that Sora was going, and he gave a blank stare as he smiled embarrassingly. "I knew that," he stated rather quickly, walking back towards them as Rarity and Pinkie giggled at his mistake.

Sunset Shimmer watched the group from down the hall, hiding behind the corner. She couldn't see what was so special about Sora - she had finally learned his name - or why the Elements of Harmony of this world were friends with him. Whatever the reason was, she was about to put her plan into action. She just had to wait until he was alone and follow him, and then everything would fall into place.

It was a shame Sunset couldn't use her lackies, Snips and Snails. After the Fall Formal incident, they wanted nothing to do with her, and actively avoided her wherever she went. She found it irrefutably annoying at first, but eventually forgot about them. She could handle her problems herself.

Then, Sunset saw Sora walking away from her, and gritted her teeth as she fumed. He was heading away from her, making her have to rethink her plan. Suddenly, he turned around, looking a bit embarrassed, and she face palmed. He was going the wrong way, and she definitely knew she was dealing with a moron. On the other hand, that would work to her advantage in the time to come.

Sora was getting closer, and she needed to act natural if she didn't want him to be suspicious. So, she stepped away from the corner and pulled a filing stick out of her inner jacket, shaving a bit of her fingernails. Sora rounded the corner and only gave her a glance as he continued on. When he walked around the next corner, she stopped what she was doing and pulled out her phone with a sinister grin.

"Okay, new kid," she said quietly, "Let's find your deepest, darkest secrets."

It was very strange for Sora to see Sunset looking calm. As he passed her, he felt like her intentions weren't completely on filing her fingernails. He couldn't displace a feeling in his gut, one that told him to watch out for her. Shrugging it off for the time being, he focused on getting to the library and finding Fluttershy, breaking out into a run to head there quicker.

He had used up enough time.

He quickly made it to the library, thanks to his explorations during school, and entered through the double doors. He halted in his tracks, his eyes wide in awe. "Whoa," he said, examining the area. It was large, and stocked to the brim with books. It reminded him of the library in Radiant Garden, and it was magnificent.

In the center, where he could see a bunch of computers around a bust of a pony head, he saw three young girls huddled around a computer. From the angle he was at, Sora couldn't see what they were looking at, but from their appearances, they seemed a few years younger than himself. Deciding to mind his own business, he turned to the other occupant of the library, one of his teachers, Miss Cheerilee.

He didn't know why she was a teacher and a librarian, but it wasn't a thought that stuck with him as he approached her. He stood right behind her, and raised a finger as he prepared to speak. Unfortunately, he never got a chance, as music suddenly started blaring behind him. Whipping around, nearly summoning his keyblade, he saw it was just the three girls that were on the computer, looking between each other in confusion.

"This ain't our song," a girl with a Southern accent stated plainly over the loud music. She had red hair with a large bow in it. "What happened?"

"Well," a girl with purple hair and orange skin said slowly, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly and causing the other two to look at her expectantly. "I _may _have edited it a bit."

The other two sighed, but before anything else could be said or done, Cheerilee walked past Sora and over to the computer, unplugging it and instantly canceling out the loud noise. Groaning a bit, she glared at the three who cringed from her gaze.

"If you three keep this up, I will ban you from using the computers," she warned, plugging the computer in again before heading back to her work, muttering something Sora couldn't catch.

"Oh, are you that transfer student?" A girl with light purple and pink hair, along with pale skin that matched Rarity's, asked, looking at Sora. Facing the girl, he noticed that the other two were looking to him as well.

"Yep," he answered with a smile, turning his head to look between the three of them, they were at least two heads shorter than himself, "How'd you know?"

"Rainbow Dash told me!" the orange skinned one said.

"And Rarity told me!" the white-skinned girl squeaked as well.

"And they told me!" the bow-wearing one finished.

"Huh," Sora said absentmindedly, "Didn't think I'd be that famous around here."

"Are you kidding!?" the purple-haired girl said excitedly, "You jumped off the school without a scratch! That was awesome!"

Sora had to chuckle at that; if anyone at the school saw what he could do in other worlds, they would be a lot more amazed. He had learned many maneuvers in his travels, especially after going through those Dream Worlds. And that wasn't even counting his fighting abilities. He never considered himself much of a fighter though, but perhaps he was always humble about it, especially when he compared himself to Riku.

The thought of his friend shifted Sora's mood to a somber one as he frowned a bit. He had barely spent any time trying to find him, and Sora felt guilty for putting the second half of his mission off. Seeing his change in behaviour, the girls glanced at each other, uncertain if something they did was responsible.

"Um…" the red-headed girl said carefully, as all three of them stepped closer to him. "Are ya alright, mister?"

Shaken from his thoughts, Sora looked at the frowns he had caused and put on a forced smile, hoping to return to the happy atmosphere. "Yeah, I'm fine," he waved off, not wanting to worry the girls. "What are your names anyway?"

"Applebloom," the bow-wearing girl said, smiling as well. Sora was glad of that. His friends always told him that his smile was infectious.

"Sweetie Belle," the white-skinned girl replied in turn.

"Scootaloo!" the last one cheered, causing Sora to laugh a bit.

"You guys are a lively bunch," Sora commented with a smirk, "Kind of reminds me of myself. Oh, I'm Sora."

The three nodded at his introduction, then Applebloom asked, "What are you doin' here, Sora?"

"I'm actually looking for Fluttershy," he admitted, looking around the room to see if she was within eyesight. "Haven't seen her around, have you?"

Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin as she gazed to the balcony above. "I think she's up on the second floor," she answered, then looked back at Sora. "Why are you looking for her?"

"I'm helping her out," Sora explained casually with a shrug.

"Do you have a crush on her?" Scootaloo asked suddenly with a sly look.

"Huh!?" Sora exclaimed in shock, taking a few steps back as he waved his hands frantically in front of him. "No, of course not!"

"Are ya sure?" Applebloom asked mischievously, sidling up to him.

"Positive," Sora replied, crossing his arms firmly. What he failed to realize was that he was blushing slightly. "She's just a friend."

"That's a shame," Sweetie sighed, honestly disheartened at his denial. "She's so kind and thoughtful. My sister told me that she used to be picked on because of her shyness."

Sora closed his eyes in thought, not liking that a friend of his was bullied before. He had dealt with enough villains to know that it wasn't fun to be the victim of one of their schemes. Still, he couldn't shake the idea of Fluttershy and himself as a couple. He had only met Fluttershy yesterday, and he truly did only think of her as a friend. Besides, even if he wanted to pursue a relationship, he was doubtful it would last. He was a traveling keyblader, and he would leave this world sooner or later anyway. Then again, there was the possibility of coming back in the future.

Sora groaned loudly, clutching his head, "Why is this so complicated?"

"Uh, what's complicated?" Applebloom asked. Snapping his eyes open, Sora had spoken aloud, giving the girls puzzled expressions.

Chuckling nervously, Sora rubbed the back of his head, "Never mind. I'll just go find Fluttershy now."

And without another word, he took off for the stairs as the three girls watched him leave. A few seconds had passed until the three looked between each other.

"Do you think he has a crush on her?" Sweetie asked the two.

"Definitely," Scootaloo and Applebloom responded simultaneously.

"Are we going to try to get them together?" Sweetie asked again eagerly, a sparkle in her eye.

"Of course!" The other two shrieked passionately at the same time, causing Cheerilee to shush them from across the room.

After searching the library, Fluttershy came to the conclusion that Twilight had left school already. It was unusual for her to leave so early, considering that the library was nearly a second home for her. So instead, Fluttershy opted to look for any books that would interest her instead. As she skimmed through many titles, her eyes landed on a yearbook, one that was published when she was only a Freshman.

With a trace of a smile on her lips, she pulled it out, and opened it up as soon as she did. She flipped through the pages until she ended up on a picture that captured the first time she met her friends. It was during the Freshman fair, when they were all searching for clubs to join at the time. She could still remember the hardships she went through during her first few months of high school.

However, she also remembered the friends that helped her through it. With a radiant smile, she closed the book and placed it back where she found it. She then reached into her green backpack and extracted a photo. One that was taken during the Fall Formal. It featured her friends, all gathered together after their skirmish with Sunset Shimmer. It was a really happy time, but it was sad when they saw Twilight Sparkle from that other world leave afterwards. Although, it was made up somewhat quickly when Twilight came back, or at least, the Twilight of _her_ world.

Fluttershy gave a sigh when she realized she had been staring at the photo for a while. She needed to get to Vice Principal Luna's office to start her second day of detention. She wanted to finish it as fast as possible, and that wouldn't happen if she stood around looking at pictures. It was at that moment that loud music sudden came on, making Fluttershy jump with a quiet squeak, dropping the photo.

The noise was soon stopped, but that didn't stop Fluttershy from being scared out of her wits. She stood completely still, fearing that moving again would cause the noise to come back. She could hear people speaking downstairs, but couldn't make out who they were. After reassuring herself that the music would not return, she relaxed her body and breathed a sigh of relief. Crouching down, she picked up her photo and gave one last look at it before slipping it back into her backpack. She carried the photo around for a reason: to remind herself that she had good friends that she could count on. They might have been divided by Sunset Shimmer, but they were reunited and their bonds of friendship was stronger from it.

She blinked; where had that thought come from? It didn't feel like something she would say, but it was still the truth. Shaking it off, she headed for the stairs, ready to get back to work. She hoped Sora would join her today, but at the same time, she hoped he didn't. She felt like she was being selfish by having him work by her side. The company was great, but she had to consider his agenda as well.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, she brought a both of her hands up to her chest in thought. And that wasn't even mentioning what she saw the day before. She wasn't sure it was something to bring up to Sora; would he become angry? However, if she _didn't_ bring it up, then what would Sora do with that weapon of his? Was he dangerous?

"Oh," Sora's voice said from the bottom of the stairs, causing Fluttershy to flinch involuntarily and glance down the set of stairs. She saw Sora standing there, with a genuine smile on his face. "There you are."

Fluttershy turned away shyly, smiling as well. He couldn't be someone of evil intentions, not with an attitude like that. If anything, he's too friendly for his own good. "Hello Sora," Fluttershy said, turning back to him.

With finesse, Sora bounded up the stairs like it was nothing, easily making the steps and standing beside Fluttershy. She took a few steps back to give him space as Sora faced her, "So, are still cleaning the hallways?"

"Uh-huh," Fluttershy answered with a nod, before she faced the floor playing with her hands, "But… I was wondering, that is if you don't mind, if you could…"

Sora picked up what she was saying, and frowned because of it. "You want to talk about yesterday, don't you?"

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she began to panic slightly. "O-Oh, it's fine," she said hastily, "If you don't want to, I can understand. You must be busy and you-"

"Fluttershy," Sora whispered calmly, his eyes heavy with remorse. Fluttershy stopped herself from continuing her rant, glancing at his gentle, blue eyes. With a shift in movement, Sora rubbed his nose as he smiled warmly. "I think you deserve to know."

"I don't know about that," Fluttershy mumbled, turning away from Sora. He was about to reach over to her to object, but stopped himself, his hand inches away from her shoulder. Curling up his hand, he brought back to his side as he took a deep breath.

"I'm helping you clean the floors," Sora stated, causing Fluttershy to whip over to him. "And my story is a bit long. So, either way, you're still listening."

Fluttershy giggled at his boldness as he chuckled himself, right before climbing a few steps down. Turning around, he have an enthusiastic wave. "Come on!" he laughed, running down the rest. Fluttershy chased after him as the two swept past the three girls on the computer, leaving the library to start her detention.

Sunset Shimmer watched from a nearby table as Sora and Fluttershy ran out of the room, a wide and evil grin on her face. Sora _did_ have a secret, one that he had been keeping from his friends. It was too juicy to pass up, and she wasn't going to miss it for a second. The chance to knock that oaf off his pedestal was okay in her book. She twirled her hair for moment in superiority, glad that things were going her way, and walked out of the library, head held high.

Heading down the hallway, she saw a flash of green, that rippled like flames, burst from around the next corner. Curious, she snuck over to see what was happening. When she peeked around the corner, her curiosity turned to confusion and a tinge of fear.

Standing in the center of the hallway was a woman, dressed in a long, black, wicked robe, with two horns on her head, and a staff in one hand. Beside her was a large, fat, cat-like person, wearing blue and red clothing. The both of them were facing away from Sunset Shimmer, and they gazed around in their new surroundings.

"Ah," the woman said with a voice like venom, "So this is where I felt that magic…"

"Huh," the cat person grunted, "Figured it would have been at some scary castle or somethin'. What makes you think that friendship magic is here, Maleficent?"

The woman known as Maleficent chuckled darkly, "Make no mistake of my powers, fool. The power is here, and once I have control of it, I can easily raise an army that would rival the Heartless."

The other figure shrugged, "If you say so."

Sunset was baffled by their use of words. The 'friendship magic' that they're referring to must be Twilight and her friends, no doubt about it. But they wanted that magic to create a force to be reckoned with, like she did a few weeks ago! It was like Maleficent was encroaching on her turf, and she didn't like that one bit.

"Hey!" Sunset snapped, stepping away from her hiding spot as the two turned towards her. "Don't think you can just come here and take over, that's my job."

Maleficent grinned snidely, "Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, it is!"

Chuckling again, Maleficent raised her empty hand to point at Sunset. "I sense a darkness that could be of use to you," she commented, flipping her hand to show an open palm of offering. "Would you like me to allow the darkness to bow to your wishes? After all, it is better to have allies instead of enemies."

Sunset rolled her eyes, "I can handle myself. Besides, I already have a plan that will push me back to the top."

Maleficent's smile never wavered for a moment, "Very well, child. Have it your way."

Sunset nodded, and walked forward moving past the two as they watched her go by. Just before Sunset was out of their sight, Maleficent spoke up again. "Just remember," she said, making Sunset pause in her walk, "If you ever need any assistance, just call to me."

"We'll see," Sunset whispered, finally leaving the hallway as her footsteps echoed ominously. She knew her plan would work, but it never hurt to have a back up. Besides, it seemed like Maleficent could be handy to take control of Equestria. When it came down to it, she may rely on Maleficent more than she thought.

"Welp," Pete sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Now what do we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Maleficent asked, turning in the opposite direction, walking off. "We wait for her to come to me, and with her help, it shall be that much easier to obtaining the powerful magic we seek."

Pete laughed, following after her, "Heh, yeah. Now, if that loser with the keyblade doesn't come here suddenly, getting that magic should be easy-peasy."

Maleficent didn't respond, examining her surroundings. From the looks of things, she was in a school, making her slightly annoyed. In environments like this, there was always too many witnesses, she would have to work to avoid detection. But the reward for doing so, in the end, would be worth it.

Roxas knew he wasn't back in the heart of Sora, that he could say freely. What he didn't know was why he was on a glass pillar, emerging from the dark abyss below. As he glanced around, he tried to recall how he got there. He had collapsed in the library, and spoke with Twilight for a brief time. Rubbing his head, he tried to stop the small headache that was building up. He was a bit glad it was there; it proved he wasn't stuck in Sora's heart. However, no matter how comfortable that thought was, he still had no idea what he was doing here for.

Tilting his head up, all he could see was darkness. It was unnerving, and it put him on edge, like standing on top of a high building. Where was he? His mouth opened suddenly in shock as a theory went through his head. A hand went up to his chest as he clutched his black coat tightly.

"Is this… my heart?" he asked aloud, turning back to the bright floor that depicted Sora with his friends. He shook his head, "Don't fool yourself, Roxas. Nobodies can't have hearts."

Roxas wanted to have hope and believe that he was in his own heart. But he was afraid that if he set his hopes too high, it would be a deeper plunge if he found out it wasn't his own.

He gave a deep sigh at that.

"Your name…" a voice echoed in his head, making him jump as he scanned the area frantically, finding it empty. The voice was empty, holding no tone whatsoever, like it had emerged from the nothingness itself.

"Who's there?" he asked to the open air.

"Do you think I could be a friend?" the voice asked out of the blue, catching Roxas off guard.

"What?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I can't use the keyblade anymore," the voice said again, but this time, it felt like it had a point of origin: behind Roxas. His eyes wide, he whipped around, widening his frame in case of attack. That wasn't the case, but that didn't stop him from being startled by the sight.

It was a person in a black coat, like his own, but the hood was up, and the figure was slightly shorter than himself, though he couldn't really tell from the distance. The figure didn't move, giving him the cold stare underneath the cloak. Roxas could only think of a few people that would wear a black coat.

"Are you with the Organization?" he asked, his brow furrowed as he clenched his hands into fists. At first, the figure said nothing, prompting Roxas' anger to grow. Unexpectedly, the figure began spouting quotes that held no sound, yet still reached his mind.

"I used to watch the sunset with somebody else."

"What am I... here for?"

"I worry about you all the time."

"If only things stayed like this."

"Set them free."

"You're both my best friends."

It went by so quickly that Roxas was lucky to catch any of the words spoken. They all seemed vaguely familiar, but he didn't know if it was simply a trick by the Organization. If it wasn't, then this was something that was related to his own heart, but that would only be true if he was in his own heart.

Growling at the intricate and difficult thoughts that laced together haphazardly, Roxas threw his arms to the side in frustration. "Who are you!?" he yelled, shooting a glare at the figure.

Moments passed without a hint of movement from either one, then the figure raised its right hand, making Roxas puzzled at the action. Suddenly, a keyblade was summoned to the figure's hand, the Kingdom Key, and Roxas was taken aback.

"A keyblade?" he blurted in disbelief, "How do you have a-?"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence, as the figure had charged him. As a reaction, Roxas jumped back as the figure swung its keyblade missing him by inches. His anger flaring up again, Roxas summoned his own keyblades, Oblivion and Oathkeeper, and got ready to fight.

Taking the initiative, Roxas surged forward, swinging his right keyblade from the side. The figure ducked underneath the attack, and was about to give an uppercut slash, but Roxas was able to block it with his left keyblade. He brought his right keyblade back to swing again, but the figure pushed his left keyblade to the side just in time to block the next attack.

The battle continued as both traded strikes and swings, only to be blocked by the other. There seemed to be no definitive winner as both were evenly matched, but as time went on Roxas' rage was giving him ground as he swung relentlessly. The figure was barely able to keep up, unable to retaliate in any way. Then, in an unpredicted move, Roxas jumped back and threw both of his keyblades, and they came towards the figure from different sides.

Unable to block both, the figure brought its keyblade to deflect one, but wasn't able to get the other as it knocked into its gut, sending the figure to the ground as its hood fell off. Roxas ran forward while the figure fell, summoning his keyblades as he jumped into the air. Just as the figure landed on its back, Roxas stabbed the ground around its neck, creating an 'X' that rendered the figure incapable of escaping.

With the fight over, and with Roxas breathing hard in rage, confusion, and fatigue, he got a good look at the person he had been fighting. It was a girl, one that may have been his age, with short black hair, and blue eyes that matched his own. She was unfazed that she was beaten, calmly staring at Roxas with unblinking eyes.

At the sight, Roxas' furious glare softened, and the more he stared into her eyes, the more he regretting having the battle. It was a feeling he had never experienced, and it just made him more perplexed.

Waiting a few seconds to catch his breath, Roxas asked quietly, "Do I… know you?"

At first, she didn't react to his words, but soon, she spoke in a voice that was actually heard, that filled Roxas' mind with anxiety and sadness.

"In someone else… maybe," she said simply, causing Roxas to take a few steps back as he tried to wrap his head around it. He didn't know her; her face was unrecognizable, her voice was unknown to him. Still, there was a lingering sense in his heart… one that did not leave his mind.

Before he could think on it further, his body tilted back until he was falling, and when he reached the ground, it burst into shards of glass. He was falling into the darkness, colorful shards surrounding him, but his mind only stayed on that one person.

A large yawn erupted from Sora as he climbed the stairs back to the roof. It had been a long day for him, and he was glad he was going to get some rest. He had spent the last three hours helping Fluttershy while explaining a bit about his story. It was exhausting work, especially when he had trouble gathering his memories. It didn't help that his mind would stray from one subject to the other, but luckily, Fluttershy was patient with him.

She had taken it rather well, considering the stuff she _could_ have been doing. Fluttershy was quiet throughout the story, only asking an occasional question to complete the full picture. Of course, Sora was still descriptive to an extent. He told her about the Heartless, which she was somewhat scared of, his keyblade, and his responsibility with it. Sora didn't want to bog her down, and he gave her the bare minimum; he still had his mission to keep the other worlds safe.

As Sora entered the Gummi ship, he wondered why he tried to keep it a secret to begin with. Every world he visited had taken the information kindly, and he was able to get some friends from it. Perhaps he felt like this world was too innocent to be dragged into these type of affairs. Whatever the case may be, he wanted to finish up his business and hope to not involve the friends he had made in this world.

Rubbing the back of his head, Sora hopped into his bunk bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Opening his eyes, Sora found himself on the familiar glass surface. Nothing had changed the last time he saw it, but after the day he had, he was willing to bet something would happen. Glancing around a bit, he waited for whatever spoke to him before to communicate with him again. Unfortunately, he was only met with silence.

After a minute, he saw a flash of white light shine from the corner of his eye, and he looked over to see a circle glowing. It was in the circle containing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, but when the glowing dissipated, he saw Rarity there.

"Generosity…" the voice spoke at last, making Sora raise a brow. He knew Rarity was a friend of Rainbow and Fluttershy, so there must have been a connection.

Another flash of light, this one being pink, and when he looked over the pink glowing circle, it faded to reveal Pinkie Pie.

"Laughter…" The voice said, involuntarily causing Sora to chuckle. She fit so perfectly. That confirmed it; this glass pillar was showing a group of friends that he had met. The four on it at that moment were the first few, so the other two that they mentioned constantly - Applejack and Twilight Sparkle - had to be next.

Sora smirked at figuring out a piece of the puzzle, but it instantly fell when another question crossed his mind: what made them so special? And what were these words that described them? He may have got more of a picture, but the mystery was far from over. It was at that moment that a crazy idea crossed his mind.

Did the magic of friendship have to do something with them?

It would make sense, considering they had faced the monster that was Sunset Shimmer first hand. It wasn't impossible, but it was still a slim chance. He had to ask as soon as possible.

"One by one," the voice said, knocking Sora out of his revery, "You find those that share the same meaning; It is becoming clear for you."

Sora thought back to what the voice had said before, about the one meaning, the six elements that make it up, and how he was the key to it all. It had to be that these six friends were behind the magic of friendship. What else could it mean?

"Expect more from your heart," the voice said, making Sora shake his head in confusion.

"More…" he asked quietly, placing his hand over his own chest. "From my heart?"

A bright light filled his vision, and he was gone from that station, sleep taking over.

* * *

**The amount of writer's block was immense...**


	6. Chapter 6: Dusk at Dawn

**Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil**

**Chapter 6: Dusk at Dawn**

Roxas was very comfortable wherever he was. It was warm and soft, and he wished he could snuggle ever deeper into the pillow he rested on. That was when the memories before his unconsciousness flooded back into his mind, causing his eyes to shoot open as he sat up instantly. The blanket that covered him fell to the floor, but he paid it no mind as he glanced around his surroundings.

Roxas appeared to be on a three-seater couch in a living room he found unrecognizable, yet cozy. He still wore his Organization coat, but his shoes were taken off, and he looked around for them. As soon as he looked down, he found them right beside the couch, and hastily put them on, preferring to wear his shoes than not.

After one more sweep of the room, Roxas pondered how he got there to begin with. He had been sleeping on the couch, evident by the blanket and pillow, but who brought him there? When he thought about it, he knew it had to be Twilight. He couldn't think of anybody else it could have been. That raised another question: Why had she given him a place to sleep? He may have saved her from those Nobodies, but he was still a stranger to her.

After that, he had a strange dream involving that girl. She looked like someone he knew long ago, but his memory was blank. It was like his heart knew what his mind didn't. But how special was she to Roxas? Was she a good friend, or just someone he met on a single occasion? He couldn't figure it out, and it made his head hurt.

Groaning, he swung his legs and placed them on the floor, pushing himself to his feet. He should thank Twilight for the hospitality nonetheless, and continue on his way. He still had to find Sora and figure out how and why he had returned to physical form. Before he could head towards a place to find her, he heard a small bark from behind the couch.

Curious, he leaned over the couch, putting his arms against the back for support, and peeked over it. On the other side, he saw a small purple dog, with green ears staring back at him with its own eyes. Strangely enough, the dog's eyes were vaguely reptilian, though Roxas hardly noticed.

"Uh, hi there," Roxas greeted with an awkward wave, "You wouldn't happen to know where Twilight is, would you?"

The dog barked again, and ran around the couch towards Roxas. He watched the dog do this as it ran up to his leg and rubbed his head against it affectionately. Roxas wasn't sure why the dog was behaving that way, and it caused him to crouch down and pick it up. Holding it an arms distance away, he looked over the dog until he saw his tags.

Reading them, he muttered, "Spike… Is that your name?"

Another bark from the dog, and Roxas took it as a confirmation. Before Roxas could reply, he saw movement from the corner of his eye, and when he looked over, he saw a door opening. Twilight emerged from the door, closing it behind her quietly, and when she turned to face the room, her face lit up in recognition. "Oh, you're awake," she said, walking over to him.

Roxas shrugged, "I guess so."

When Twilight was close enough, she took Spike away from Roxas, holding him close to her chest as she smiled. After seeing her hold Spike, Roxas figured he was holding him the wrong way, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He wasn't used to dealing with pets, and it showed quite plainly to Twilight.

"I never got a chance to thank you for saving me," Twilight expressed, making Roxas smile. It felt good to be appreciated, especially when he wasn't used to it to begin with.

"It's no trouble," he said with a shake of his head, "I'm just glad those Nobodies didn't hurt you."

"Are those what attacked me?" she asked, setting Spike on the ground, having a quizzical expression. "What are 'Nobodies'?"

Roxas suddenly realized his mistake, his eyes widening as he tried to think of something to say. He knew it was important to keep worlds ignorant of each other, and he couldn't believe he had let that slip. Despite how hard he thought, his mind was drawing blanks, and he began to sweat slightly.

"What's the matter?" Twilight asked innocently raising a brow.

"Uh, well…" Roxas hesitated, turning his head to the side to avoid her gaze. Then, Twilight gasped, making Roxas glance back at her with confusion. He caught her looking at a clock, but he didn't know why she would be worried about that.

"We're going to be late!" she exclaimed, her hands clenched together. "No wonder you're so uneasy!"

"Yeah," Roxas chuckled sheepishly, "We'll be late."

What they were late for, Roxas had absolutely no idea.

"Before we go to school," Twilight said, taking a step back as she looked over Roxas, a hand on her chin. "We need to get you some new clothes."

Roxas took mild offense to that, "What's wrong with the way I look?"

Twilight's eyes widened as she waved her hands frantically in front of her. "N-Nothing!" she said loudly, "It's just, well, what you're wearing isn't exactly… normal."

Roxas would have argued that no one had said it was out of the ordinary before, but this was a different world, and didn't know what ordinary was here. So he held his tongue and gave a reluctant nod. "What do you suggest then?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling before facing Roxas again. "Do you have any other clothing with you?" she asked, wanting to start with what he had.

Roxas' first reaction would have been to say 'no', but when he thought about it, it did feel like he was wearing clothing underneath his coat. Ignoring that someone was watching, he gripped his coat and tore it off, revealing his old Twilight Town garments. He released his grip on his coat as he looked himself over, the memories in the simulator coming back to him. He wasn't very fond of the clothing, but it was all he had besides his Organization coat.

"How long have you been wearing that?" Twilight asked, pointing at his clothes.

Roxas looked at her and said, "I really don't know."

Twilight would have continued with her questions if she wasn't instantly reminded that they were going to be late. "We'll talk more later," she exclaimed grabbing Roxas forearm, "We have to get to school!"

Before Roxas knew it, he was practically being dragged out of the house by Twilight as she grabbed her bag in her other arm, heading out the door. Spike wasn't far behind, following behind the two as he barked happily.

Sora was walking through the empty halls of Canterlot High once again, turning his gaze in every direction. His search to find at least one of his friends at the school wasn't going so well. He figured it would be straightforward to find them, considering it was fairly easy the last few times, but at that moment, luck was not on his side. He was surprised at how early he had awoken, as he wasn't much of a morning person. Though, he had forced himself up to see if he could catch one of his friends before the other students made it to the school.

"Fluttershy!" he called down the hallways. "Rarity! Rainbow?"

He stopped at an intersection in the hallway as he took a short break, crossing his arms as he looked both ways. "I gotta see if they know anything about the magic of friendship," He said to himself, "If they're linked to it, then I may be one step closer to my mission."

"Oh, howdy, Sora!" a girl with a country voice said behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Sora saw a girl with a green and white shirt, a denim skirt, and brown boots. He also noticed that she had blonde hair in a ponytail, with a brown cowboy hat on her head.

"Hey," Sora said back slowly, turning to face her fully. He didn't recognize her, for he had never met her, but with depictions of apples on her clothing, there was only one true guess at her name. He rubbed his chin, "Applejack, right?"

She chuckled lightly, "That's me!"

Sora smiled, glad to finally run into one of the six friends. One of his other friends must have told Applejack about him. He didn't know her very well, but if she was anything like the other girls, then he could trust her. "Do you have a second?" he asked kindly, "There's something really important I gotta ask."

"Sure," Applejack said, walking past him while still facing him, "Let's walk and talk, I need ta see Rainbow before school starts."

Nodding, Sora walked beside Applejack, wondering how to word his question. "So, care to elaborate about the dance and that monster everyone keeps mentioning?" he asked, putting his hands behind his head.

Applejack looked at Sora with surprise, shocked that he would bring something like that up so bluntly. She thought for a moment, as she hummed to herself, and Sora worried for a split second that he should have eased into the question. His worries were squandered when Applejack spoke. "It was a few weeks ago, I reckon," she started, facing forward away from Sora, "Durin' the Fall Formal. Sunset Shimmer put on the crown that was supposed ta be Twilight's, and this magic show started."

"Magic show?" Sora inquired with humor in his tone.

"You know," Applejack sighed, giving him a look of both amusement and frustration. "A lotta lights and such. Anyway, Sunset turned into this monster. I can't say exactly what it was, but it was pretty scary. She nearly destroyed us, but it was stopped by the power of friendship, or that's what Twi said. Then… well, it was kinda fuzzy, but what I remember was that we were floatin' and this magic chained between us and turned Sunset back to who she was."

Sora remained silent, sorting out the new piece of information he was given. It all went back to Twilight in some way, whether it be involved with her friends or the special crown that turned Sunset into that monster. As far as he could figure, the best course of action would be to find her, and see if she had the magic of friendship his enemies were after.

Sora faced Applejack again with a genuine smile, "Thanks for telling me."

"Ah, it was nothin'," Applejack waved off, smiling herself as she turned to Sora.

"It wasn't nothing," Sora declared, his expression as honest as his words, "You helped a lot with that. And I really appreciate it."

"Oh, well…" Applejack said, taken aback by his kindness, "You're welcome then, Sora."

"So," Sora said, hanging onto the word in a way to change the subject, though not by much. "Do you know where I can find Twilight?"

"I'm not sure," she replied with a shrug, "She's been in the Library lately, finishin' up a project. I bet you'll find her there."

She then stopped abruptly, turning to Sora with a questioning gaze, "Why are ya so interested with what happened at the Fall Formal?"

Sora hesitated a moment, halting in his tracks as well. He brought his arms down and scratched his cheek sheepishly. He knew he couldn't keep up his lie for long, and actually wanted to say what he was really in their world. He had already explained it to Fluttershy - or at least part of it - so what was holding him back?

Sora sighed, facing away from Applejack. "I'll tell you everything," he started, turning to her with a hardened expression. "_With_ your friends. I'll… explain everything."

Applejack was surprised by his boldness, a bit flustered in a response. "I, uh, can't wait then," she said, unsure what to make of his attitude. "But what exactly are you going to explain?"

"You'll see," Sora said, giving a quick wave and a smirk before running off, heading for the Library. He meant what he said; they had helped him a lot since he arrived at Canterlot High, and they deserved the truth. Even if it would come a bit late.

Roxas couldn't remember the last time he had run so far, so fast. There may have been a few instances during his time with the Organization, but those memories were as hazy as the rest of his past. It didn't help that Twilight was practically dragging him the whole time, his footing on the verge of tripping. He couldn't even see where they were going, as he was too busy keeping himself balanced.

It wasn't until Twilight slowed to a stop that Roxas bent down in exhaustion, resting his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. Roxas was a capable fighter, but he was still getting used to having a body again. "Was that… really necessary?" he asked in between breaths.

"Of course it was!" Twilight retorted as if it was a silly question, as Spike trotted up to him, his tongue hanging out comically as he took a seat on the ground. Glancing up at her, Roxas saw that she was hardly winded from their travel, and he wondered how many times she had been nearly late to begin with. Taking one last deep breath, Roxas stood back up as he looked at where they had arrived.

It was a school, fairly basic, though Roxas had nothing to compare it to. He may have been given the implication of a school in the simulated Twilight Town, but he truly had no memory of attending any school. The yard he stood in front of was bare of anybody at all, and the rising sun indicated they were far earlier than they needed to be. His staring caught the attention of Twilight who looked at him with a raised brow.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, putting a hand on Roxas' shoulder and shaking him.

Stirred from his thoughts, Roxas faced Twilight, seeing her concern. He quickly put on a forced smile, shrugging off Twilight's hand. "Just thinking," he stated, looking at the building again. "I've never really been to a school before."

"Never been to school?" Twilight questioned with curiosity, "What have you've been doing then?"

Roxas scratched his nose, a mischievous grin appearing on his face. "It's a secret," he answered rather honestly, causing Twilight to look at him exasperatedly.

"Fine, don't tell me," she said, walking away from him towards the entrance of the school. "But could you at least tell me about those monsters?"

Roxas' smile sank to a frown as he grew worried. There was no way he would be able to persuade Twilight to drop the subject. She just didn't seem like the type. Of course, he had never been good with lies either, from both inheriting it from Sora and lack of practice. Briskly walking to match Twilight's speed, Roxas hesitated in a response, hoping that remaining silent would be a good enough answer for her.

"Well?" Twilight pushed, sounding impatient. Roxas shook his head, failing to come up with anything to say to her. The Nobodies had attacked her and nearly destroyed her, she had a right to know what they were, especially if they came after her again.

In the end, Roxas knew there was only one thing to say. With a hint of reluctance in his voice he said, "They're-"

A loud crash reverberated through the earth, causing Twilight and Roxas to sway where they stood. Spike whimpered from the sudden quake, and hid behind Twilight's legs, poking his head out frightfully. Roxas was already in high alert, quickly scanning the area for anything that had caused it. It wasn't until he looked at the roof of the school that his jaw dropped. A very large Nobody, one that was taller than the building itself, was standing on the other side of the school. A Nobody that Roxas could recognize anywhere. A Twilight Thorn.

It still looked the way it did when Roxas had fought one. From what he could see, it still had its pointed shoulders and four long, blue tentacles wrapped around its neck, moving around like they had minds of their own. Why a Nobody of this caliber was here was unknown to Roxas. After all, Twilight was with him, and the Nobody wasn't near them at all. What could it be after, and who sent it to begin with?

"W-What is that?" Twilight asked shakily, pointing a finger at the gargantuan monster.

"That would be a Nobody," Roxas explained rather calmly, glaring at the monster, "I need to take it out before it hurts someone."

"You mean with those giant keys you have?" Twilight asked hesitantly, still in the dark about his weapons.

Roxas gave a small nod, and sprinted straight for the school, ignoring his aching muscles as his drive to take out the Nobody fueled his mind. Twilight was startled that Roxas would run head first towards the large Nobody, and wondered if he would hurt himself because of his selflessness. Eventually, she chased after him, with Spike following behind with less enthusiasm.

The soccer field had more activity than Fluttershy thought there would be, though not by much. Rainbow had invited herself, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to come see her practice. More for having all of them together than boosting Rainbow's ego. Fluttershy wasn't too surprised that Twilight hadn't joined them, though she was growing very worried for her; it wasn't like her to miss a friendly get together. Applejack hadn't arrived either, though she probably was held up with something.

It was nice chatting with everyone as Rainbow practiced with the soccer ball. The thoughts of Sora and his mission to slay Heartless was still at the front of her mind, but she tried to avoid them the best she could. Struggle as she may, her friends were able to see that something was on her mind, and Rarity had a better guess as to what then Pinkie did.

"Something on your mind, dear?" she asked, causing Fluttershy to shake out of her stupor. She had been so deep in thought that she had forgotten that she had her friends around.

"Oh, uh, just… Sora," she answered, surprisingly honest, dipping her head low.

"Do you fancy him?" Rarity asked slyly,causing a small blush to appear on Fluttershy's cheeks.

"That wasn't-" Fluttershy tried to say, facing away from Rarity. "I mean, it doesn't-"

"Fluttershy has a crush!?" Pinkie exclaimed, catching Rainbow's attention as she stopped her practice. "She hasn't had a crush since… ever!"

"But I'm not saying that-" Fluttershy said before being interrupted.

"Fluttershy has a crush?" Rainbow asked, walking over while holding the soccer ball. "With who?"

At that moment, the doors at the school burst open, and Applejack walked out briskly, waving a hand over to them. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized with a sigh, "Just helpin' someone out."

"It's fine," Rarity waved off as Applejack gathered around with everyone else. "We were just taking about Fluttershy's crush!"

"A crush?" Applejack asked, "With who?"

"I was just thinking-" Fluttershy started.

"Sora," Rarity said dreamily.

"Hey," Applejack recognized with a smile, "I just saw him. Said he had something to tell us."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, she knew that Sora was going to tell them about the Heartless and his keyblade. She wondered what brought him to reveal the truth, but couldn't think on it for long before Pinkie gasped sharply.

"He's going to tell us that he likes Fluttershy!" she said with a wide smile, nearly leaping for joy.

"I don't think that-" Fluttershy said, almost drowning in their words.

"How romantic!" Rarity swooned, and as the friends talked excitedly with each other Fluttershy got up and walked a few meters away. They were jumping to conclusions and hardly listening to her. It wouldn't be the first time this happened, but this time it was far too personal to simply drop. She wasn't even sure if she felt that way about Sora!

"How did I get mysef into this situation?" she asked herself, taking a seat away from the girls. She placed her head in her hands as her elbows rested on her lap as she simply watched the sky. That was when she caught sight of grayish thorns twisting and disappearing in the air. She had seen nothing like it, not even from the Heartless that Sora had described to her.

Then, out of no where, a monster appeared, the thorns disappearing entirely as the behemoth landed on the ground, causing a large boom to shake the stands. The four others stopped in their chatting to see what caused it, standing up from their seats as they gazed upon the large monster.

They were all stricken by fear, unable to react in any way. Fluttershy was both terrified and confused; it looked nothing like a Heartless, so what was it? As it stood there motionless, the monster finally moved, turning its head in Fluttershy's direction, as soon as it did, Fluttershy could only do one thing.

Scream.

Roxas was already half way around the school when he heard the scream, picking up his pace more than before. He could hear Twilight behind him, but it hardly bothered him as he reached the corner, his eyes landing on the monstrosity that loomed over the group of girls on the bleachers. It was looking straight at one particular girl, however, who was cowering away from it.

Growling angrily, Roxas yelled, "Hey! Pick on someone your own size!"

Roxas kept his glare solely on the Twilight Thorn, which turned towards him as well. He could see the skin of the Nobody waver once its gaze fell on him, and Roxas made his way to the field to stand before the Nobody. He summoned his keyblades and twirled them in his hands, bracing himself for another fight.

The images of his last battle with a Twilight Thorn flashed in Roxas' mind, causing him to smirk. "If I can beat you once, then I can beat you again," Roxas remarked confidently, giving his keyblades another twirl as if to point out his extra weaponry.

Then, another crash behind Roxas made him flinch as the girls gasped in fright again. He really didn't want to see what caused that noise, but he did so anyway, turning his body around dramatically. What stood in front of him was another Twilight Thorn, not so different from the one that stood right behind him.

Roxas slumped his shoulders as he sighed, "You gotta be kidding me."

"Watch out!" A rainbow-haired girl shouted, causing Roxas to whip back around and jump out of the way, dodging out of the way of a fist slamming into the ground. He performed a quick roll and ended up on his feet, charging straight for the Thorn that first appeared. The Thorn cupped its hands together and slammed down on the ground. Roxas had dashed out of the way, and hopped onto the hands, running along its arms as he made his way to the head.

When he was within range, he prepared to swing, but was cut short when the other Thorn grasped him tightly and tossed him high into the air. He had remembered this move from his past, and was ready to do an air dodge like before. Unfortunately, he couldn't predict that the other Thorn would meet him preemptively in the air. Before Roxas could do anything, the Thorn swung its arm down, smashing it into Roxas as he landed on the ground, hard.

"Roxas!" Twilight cried from the sidelines, having already ran around the battle to join her friends.

Roxas lied there for a second, his breathing amplified, before pushing himself to his feet with his keyblades. "That all you got?" he questioned, putting one keyblade on his shoulder as he threw his other arm out. "I'm just getting started."

He was only putting up a facade as he was running plans through his head. It would be difficult to fight two Twilight Thorns at once, considering they were already nimble by themselves. Unexpectedly, the two Thorns were flying circles around him, their bodies stretched to make it look like a seamless circle had encompassed him.

Roxas tried to keep his eyes open for an attack, but they were moving so fast that he wasn't sure that he would be able to catch it in time. His thoughts brought truth as a fist shot out of the circle hitting his front briefly before retracting. The hit only made him stumble, but he was still injured from the strike. Then another fist came out, and Roxas was ready for it as he jumped over the fist, only to be struck by another, sending him to the ground. He quickly got to his feet, and was able to strike away another fist with a keyblade, and another, and another.

Soon, a flurry of fists was coming his way, as he tried desperately to knock them all back. He was thankful that he had two blades, and couldn't imagine deflecting these attacks with a single weapon. The Thorns stopped their attacks suddenly and broke off from their flying circle, and instead went into the air. They hovered there for a split second before stacking each of their fists into a column and swung down. Roxas eyes widened, knowing he was unable to get out of the way in time, and instead brought his keyblades up in an attempt to block the attack.

It worked, to an extent. When the force of the attack made contact with his keyblades, Roxas' legs nearly buckled as he gasped out from the pain from his arms and legs. The Thorns moved their hands out of the way to observe their work, only to find Roxas barely standing on his feet.

Roxas was swaying back and forth, holding his keyblades loosely in his hands. He never expected this fight to be so difficult, but he had to hold on. He had to fight them off. If those Nobodies were after Twilight again, he knew he had to do whatever it took to defend her. He wasn't going to let someone be taken out by these monsters.

Suddenly, someone slashed through the knee of one of the Thorns causing it to tip forward and fall to a knee. In that same brief moment, another slash was made across the other Thorn, which fell onto its back by the force.

Roxas could have seen who it was that helped him out, but his vision was a bit blurry as he tried to keep himself awake. He heard someone land by his side as Roxas looked over, still feeling tipsy. He shook his head as he regained his visibility, only to find…

"I don't know how you got here," Sora quipped, extracting a potion from a pocket as he gave a smile, his keyblade firmly in his hand, "But it looks like you could use a hand."

Roxas couldn't stop a wide grin from emerging as he chuckled quietly, "About time you showed up."

"Oh, come one!" Sora shouted in the Library, scratching the top of his head. He had been searching every nook and cranny for Twilight, as Applejack had suggested, but he couldn't find anyone at all. He really did wake up too early.

Sighing, Sora took a seat on the ground, "The first time I get something about my mission and I can't find the one person I need to talk to. I wonder what Donald and Goofy would do."

That's when he felt a vibration in the ground as the school shook, causing Sora to glance around in puzzlement. "Was that an earthquake?" he asked aloud, standing back on his feet. When he did, he waited for something else to happen, and a couple seconds later, he felt another quake that lasted just as long as the one before.

Something didn't feel right to Sora, but he didn't know if he should investigate. It really could have been an earthquake, and he was simply over thinking it. But if it wasn't, and it truly was something dangerous, then he needed to find it, and fast.

"Sora," a feminine voice in his head said, causing him to flinch, "Roxas needs help."

"Who's there?" he asked, glancing around and wondering if it was someone spying on him. "And what about Roxas?"

The voice was very familiar to Sora, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He may have run into this person before, but only for a moment. And when he thought about it, she kind of sounded like Kairi. "Roxas is at the back of the school," the voice explained hastily, "He's in trouble, hurry."

Her voice was desperate, and Sora knew he couldn't waste any more time. "Right," he said, and charged out of the Library, sprinting down the hallways for a way out of the school. He didn't know why Roxas was in this world, or who was telling him this information, but he knew he had to help his former Nobody. After all, he had his own heart, right?

Sora finally found the exit of the school, and burst outside, scanning over the field that presented itself to him. He was instantly met with two large Nobodies that he had never seen before, both identical to the last detail. He also saw Roxas, staggering where he stood, and knew he must have been fighting them for a while.

Sora's jaw dropped, his mind reeling over the fact that Roxas was there, really there. He snapped his attention to the six girls on the other side of the field, standing next to the stands. They were the friends that he had made over the last two days, and he knew that they were in trouble too. Sora glared at the Nobodies defiantly as he grew angry at these monsters for hurting his friends. It didn't really matter how Roxas appeared, they had to take out these Nobodies first and foremost.

Sora ran straight for the first one on his right, his keyblade appearing in his hands. He jumped and slashed through its knee, and then pushed off its leg to launch himself over to the other Nobody. With the added momentum, Sora was not only able to slash through the chest of the other Nobody, but also knock it back. When Sora made the cut, he again pushed himself off of the Nobody, sending him flying into the air.

After doing a flip, Sora landed easily next to the hurt Roxas, who had Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands; the two weapons he used when he fought against Sora.

Despite the situation, Sora gave a small smile as he extracted a potion from his pocket with his free hand. "I don't know how you got here," he quipped, "But it looks like you could use a hand."

Roxas gave a small chuckle, "About time you showed up."

"Why wouldn't I?" Sora responded, throwing the potion into the air. It teleported over Roxas and dispersed its green healing magic, rejuvenating Roxas as he took a deep breath of relief.

"That feels better," he commented, rolling his shoulders. The two Nobodies, at that point, had picked themselves up, preparing to attack the two keybladers. Sora and Roxas got into a fighting stance, back to back, as they each faced a different Nobody.

"We have to work together on this," Sora said firmly.

Roxas grunted, "You got it."

Momentarily, Sora and Roxas turned to each other and bumped wrists together before they each charged towards a different Twilight Thorn.

Sora threw his keyblade at the Nobody as he ran, lodging it into the chest of the Nobody, though it didn't react to it. The Thorn threw back its hands and struck the ground, but Sora leapt out of the way, and bounced off each arm to arrive back to his keyblade.

Meanwhile, Roxas had done the same, throwing both of his keyblades into the Thorn as he dodged its attacks and meeting back with his weapons again. The two looked to each other and gave a quick nod. Swiftly, Sora clutched his keyblade and tore it out, as did Roxas with his keyblades. Then, the two pushed off each Nobody like a rocket towards the school. With their inertia, they were made contact with the wall and ran along it towards each other.

They only gave glance at each other in a sign of acknowledgement before focusing back in their run. When they got to a certain point, they pushed off of the schools and cut through the opposite Nobody that they had initially fought against, staggering both of them.

As the two keybladers simultaneously landed on the ground, beside the stricken Nobodies, they built up power in their keyblades as they brought them back for a very powerful attack. When the power was at its peak, the two keybladers swung their keyblades horizontally, sending a powerful wave to land on the Nobodies, sending both tumbling to the ground.

"Roxas!" Sora called with a wave, gaining his attention.

Seeing it, Roxas knew exactly what Sora had in mind, "On it!"

As Roxas rushed towards him, Sora had his keyblade disappear as he cupped his hands together, waiting for Roxas. When he was close enough, Roxas hopped onto Sora's hands, and with each others might, sent Roxas high into the sky. Afterwards, Sora jumped up to meet him. Readying himself, Roxas had his keyblades disappear as well, just as Sora re-summoned his own keyblade. They caught each other's hands just as their momentum was gone, then Roxas twisted his body around while holding on to Sora, and whipped the other straight towards the fallen Nobody.

Sora was heading towards it like a bullet, his keyblade at his side as he waited for the right moment to strike. When he felt like he was close enough, Sora did a quick flip as he twirled the keyblade to wielded it underhanded, and stabbed the Nobody as he landed. The force was so immense that the Nobody dispersed into nothingness as soon as the keyblade made contact.

Roxas landed beside Sora as the two exchanged a high five before focusing on the other Nobody, Roxas summoning his keyblades again. The Thorn was already standing up, unfazed by its comrades death. It tilted its head at the two keybladers before turning to face the girls, who flinched from its blank stare.

It quickly slinked over, not really taking a step as it dragged its feet, and reached over with a hand. It was so fast that the girls didn't have time to react, and the Nobody caught hold of Fluttershy who gasped, whimpering as she struggled in its hold. Sora gaped at the scene, wondering how a Nobody would be smart enough to take someone hostage. He shook that thought out, choosing to keep his mind on what was happening.

"Its got Fluttershy!" Sora stated plainly as Roxas narrowed his eyes.

"We have to be careful, Sora," Roxas warned, knowing it would be difficult with the Nobody holding an innocent.

"Yeah," Sora said slowly, "And I may have an idea. Follow my lead."

Sora raised his keyblade as he ran for the Nobody, which sent out a plethora of thorn-like strings. Roxas watched as Sora reversal-ed the strings, gliding around them easily as he made his way to the head. Roxas face lit up as he figured out Sora's train of thought, giving a small mischievous smile as he ran after the Nobody as well, charging up his keyblades. He only wondered who would catch Fluttershy when the Nobody was defeated.

Sora had made his way over the Thorn's head, waiting for Roxas to do the next move. On cue, Roxas had his keyblades charged up and ready to strike, sprinting over to the immobile Nobody. When he felt like he was close enough, Roxas tossed his keyblades over to Sora, who hopped onto the Nobody and pushed himself over to the keyblades. Lining himself up, Sora kicked each keyblade swiftly as they both passed through the Nobody and lodged into the ground behind it, which staggered from the dual attack.

Then, as a final move, Roxas slide underneath the disoriented Nobody's legs, retrieving his keyblades as they were still charged up. In the blink of an eye, Roxas swung his keyblades in an 'X' fashion, suddenly appearing in front of the Nobody again. Nobody made a move except for Sora's falling form, and when he stuck the landing, the Nobody disintegrated to grayish magic, relinquishing his hold on Fluttershy.

She screamed as she plummeted to the ground, but Sora was fast enough to spring into action, sprinting over to where Fluttershy would fall. At the last second, Sora leapt forward, twisted himself in the air, and caught Fluttershy in his lap he slid along the ground for a while, Fluttershy holding tightly.

When they finally came to a halt, Sora breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he was able to destroy both Nobodies and save his friends. Letting go of Fluttershy, he made to get up, only to find that she was still clutching to Sora, causing him to blush a bit.

"Uh, Fluttershy," he said, "You can let go now."

She opened her eyes slowly to find herself safe and sound, and flinched when she realized what she was doing. Hastily, she let go of Sora, standing to her feet as she looked away in embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry, Sora," she apologized right away, "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it," Sora said, jumping to his feet with a broad smile, "I'm just glad you're alright."

Fluttershy smiled very slightly as she nodded in thanks, and then came the other friends. As soon as everyone was within range of Sora, they bombarded him with questions, and he found himself unable to say anything at all. He looked between each girl, baffled by the many words being spoken as he tried to figure out how to at least get a breath of air. Meanwhile, Roxas stood a ways away, chuckling at Sora's attention as he put a hand on his hips.

"Glad that's over," he remarked to himself.

"Oh, and it was just getting good," somebody unfamiliar whined, causing Roxas to recoil as he glanced around for the origin. The girls had stopped from hassling Sora, also wondering who had spoken. Roxas didn't need to look far, for when his eyes looked to the roof, he found his culprit.

Two figures, clad in the old Organization black coats, stood there, looking down upon them like unrightful kings. Spike was giving his opinion of the two by barking non-stop as Sora and the girls saw them as well. Sora Walked over to Roxas and stood by his side, each giving a glare at the two figures. Anger was coursing through both their veins, though more so in Roxas.

"Are you working with Xehanort?" Sora questioned, pointing a finger at them.

The taller one gave a very despicable laugh that only annoyed the two keybladers. "Xehanort?" he asked back with humor in his voice, "Please, we have a more personal venture in this world."

"Then who are you?" Roxas shot out.

"You mean you don't remember?" he said acting like he was hurt, "How disappointing."

In an instant, the tall figure threw back his hood, revealing long pale blonde hair with a wicked smile on his face that creeped out

everyone that saw him. Sora tilted his head to the side as he didn't recognize him, but Roxas knew right away.

"Vexen!" he shouted, throwing his arm out.

"Yes, that's right," Vexen drawled, "And what about you, Sora? Ring any bells?"

"Who are you again?" Sora asked, causing Vexen's jaw to drop in sheer shock. He shook his head as he gave a loud growl.

"How can you not remember me!?" he shouted angrily, "We fought each other in Castle Oblivion!"

"Castle… Oblivion?" Sora repeated blankly, looking to Roxas for help.

Seeing his lost attitude, Roxas simply said, "I'll fill you in with what I know later."

Nodding, Sora faced Vexen again with the same glare, "What do you want, Vexen?"

Taking a deep breath to quench his anger, Vexen's smile returned in full as he gestured to the girls. "I just want to perform experiments on the magic of friendship like any other scientist. Is that so bad?"

The girls all shivered, not wanting to know what he meant by experiments. "You leave them alone!" Roxas yelled.

Vexen grunted, "Like that'll stop me. With the Nobodies at my command, I doubt you two will be much of an obstacle for long."

"What have I said about underestimating our opponents?" the other hooded figure scolded, "It shall lead to your downfall."

Vexen turned to him with a judging gaze, "And why haven't you paid your respects to the keybladers, Zexion?"

The figure looked off to the side, "To keep my identity a secret, you imbecile. But… I suppose it does not matter now."

The figure pulled back his hood much slower than Vexen did, showing a man with purple hair that covered the right side of his face. "I am curious as to why Sora has forgotten you," Zexion commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"We can think on that later," Vexen waved off, "We have work to do, especially after those two_keybladers_ destroyed our top Nobodies."

"Agreed," Zexion nodded, and the two were enveloped with a dark portal.

"Wait!" Sora shouted, but it was too late, as Vexen and Zexion disappeared from view. Sora stomped a foot in frustration, "We lost them."

Roxas looked to Sora, his expression serious. "They'll show themselves eventually," Roxas stated, "And when they do, we take 'em out."

Sora smirked as he nodded, but then really looked over Roxas leaning in slightly. Roxas backed away, holding his hands up. "How did you get back anyway, Roxas?" Sora asked.

Roxas sighed as he shook his head, "I have no idea. And if you don't know, then its something we have to figure out."

Sora didn't respond, thinking back to the voice from his dreams. It said to expect more from his heart. Was this what it meant? And the female that spoke to him only fifteen minutes ago, how did she know Roxas was here? Whoever it was, it just showed that there was still much to figure out.

"Can someone _please_ tell us what the hay is going on?" Rainbow asked in exasperation as the six walked over to Sora and Roxas. The two looked to each other, staring as they cracked up a bit. They sure had a lot of explaining to do. After all, they felt like they deserved to know at that point.

* * *

**A big thanks to NightmareKnight1 for getting around to editing this chapter! And if anyone has some tips for writing combat scenes, I'd like to hear them. Thanks!**


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